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<br />outside the reservation that the Tribe recently purchased. The project <br />will develop a full irrigation supply for 7500 acres of reservation land <br />that will allow a substantial expansion of the Tribes' meager agricul- <br />tural enterprise. <br /> <br />In the Indian. community of Towaoc and large segments of the rural pro- <br />ject area residents have had to haul their domestic water from distant <br />sources and store it in cisterns for later use. The project would serve <br />these needs as well as a supplemental supply for the City of Cortez, the <br />Towns of Dove Creek and Dolores and an existing rural domestic water <br />system. <br /> <br />Non-Indian agriculture lands are now either partislly irrigated with an <br />inadequate supply or are dry-farmed under marginal precipitation condi- <br />tions. Crop failures are frequent and the general farm economy is in- <br />secure. The project will provide 13,700 acre-feet of supplemental irri- <br />gation water for 26,290 acres of land under the existing Montezuma Valle' <br />Irrigation Company system and 54,200 acre-feet of water to fully irri- <br />gate 27,855 acres located in the Dove Creek area. This will substan- <br />tially increase crop production and permit a more diversified agriculturr <br />that can better withstand both drouths and adverse economic conditions. <br /> <br />The project is located in the heart of the Four Corners tourism region. <br />Project facilities will include four storage reservoirs which will pro- <br />vide water oriented recreation for the traveling tourist. McPhee <br />Reservoir, located on the Dolores River and the largest of the four <br />reservoirs, would have a 2000 acre inactive storage pool and a minimum <br />depth of fluctuating pool thus providing an excellent habitat for fish <br />as well as recreation. The project will stabilize the operation of threl <br />Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company reservoirs thus enhancing recreation <br />and fishing at those sites. <br /> <br />Presently the Dolores River is fully depleted, during late summer, in <br />the vicinity of the McPhee Damsite from diversions by the Montezuma <br />Valley Irrigation Company and other irrigation uses. The project would <br />provide storage releases from the reservoir averaging 25,400 acre-feet <br />annually for the purpose of restoring the 168 mile reach of stream below <br /> <br />5 <br />