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Towaoc Canal to help Utes open farmlands The Towaoc Canal, a feature of the Dolores I'fojecl, wtI1. be ....- willi the Lower Hermana Latera1andlllgh1lneDllc:hIn Montezuma ValIey,lnslesdof beJng built separately, Bureou of Reclamation', Up. per Colorado Regional Dlrec>- tor CUfford Barrett an- noWlced recently. and the Ute MOIIIIlain Ute TrIbe Is hoping to UIe the savtnp for lis .... pipeline to Towaoe. The combination plan wtI1 ....u1t In a oonaIderable ..vtnp to the tupayer and lIliI1 achieve the purpoaea of the Dol..... Project In aup. plying waterto the Ule Moun- tain ute Indfan Tribe, "hUe reducing salinity to lIIe CuIorado RIver from the McEInw Creek Unit of the Colorado Rlver Water Quality Improvement Program. The combination plan wtI1 save about $1.8 millJon over provioua plana calling f<Jr a separate Towaoo CanaL Con- _on on the combined To......1IIgh1Ine Canal wtI1 begin In 1987 as pan of the Dolorea Project. The new plan wtI1 also reduce eo- vIronmeoIaI ~cls by c0m- bining floWlIlnto one enlarged canal bcdJt aJoog exIatIng dJ~ cb allgnmenta. Memberll oflhe Ute Moun- tain Ute IndJan TrIbal Cow> ~_~ at a recent \be~' Water Conservancy DIatrtct f/I;n<<J II resolution of 8IlP- ...... In lhe reaolut1on, lhe board backed lhe tribe'a plan to ....... funds from lhe 1Il.8 Illil1Ion In -...vtngs to lhe ItO\'Ormnent ....u1ting from the tribe'. cooperation In ....blnIng the IIIgh1Ine and Towaoc canal. With lhe funds, the tribe proposes to: I. Construct a munlclpal- lnduslrlal pipeline wbleb wtI1 allow for lhe dellvery of treated water to Towaoc from the City of Cortez water trea~ ment plant, with no repl.ymeQt obJjgatlona on the pan of the Irlbe. 2. E.tablLah a main. tenanee. oparatio" and degeIopmenl fund to enaure lhal lhe Irlbe wtI1 have the necessary fInanclal reaoUfo. ...tofullyreallselbe munlcI~I, recraa- tlonal, irrigation and asrlcultural benefits in- leaded and anticipated as a reauIl of tribal partldpatlon In the Dolorea Project. Recently, lhe Cortez coun- dI and membara of the tribal. councll met and reacbed a tentative agroemanl wbereby the clly wouJd treal the in- dians' water they own as part of the Dolores Project. In May, the Bureau of Reclamation, wb1cb' is bulkIIng the Dolores Project, llIlIlOlII1COCanal will be combbted with the Lower Hermana Lateral and IIIgh1Ine Dlleb In the Montezuma ValIey,lnslesd of belngbuiltaepara!ely. BuRec espIained lhel lhe coml>JlIalWowtl1resu11lna oonaIderable savtnp to the tuPlyers and stUl achieve lhe purpoae of lhe Dol..... Project In aupplylng water to the tribe, wbIle reducing salinity to lbe Colorado RIver from the McElmo Creek Unit d the Colorado River Wa.ter Qua.lity Improvement Program. Pwpose of the canalis to carry irrigaUon water to new agrIcuIluraI land 00 lhe reservation south and west of S1eeplngUle Mountain. In lhe resolution, !be boanI rec<J8Dlze8 the long auppert and partlclpallOll of the tribe In bringing about the Dolorea and _La Plata water proJecta. Further, the resolution notea, II Is the Intent oflhe dlaIrlcl lhaI project water allocallona to lhe tribe be enougbtomakewater~ ce devel~ ..ooomiclllly feasib1eforthelribe. And, by cooperating III the canal allualloo, lhe tribe baa made it possible to save $9.6 mJllion on the water project wbIle reducing salinity In the McEInw Creek waterahecl. Plus the factlballlls im- perative to the heallll and weU.f>e1ng of the Irlbe thai a reDabte aupply of blgb- quality drinking water replace the present aub- standard and Inconalslenl aupply wilheut undue flna... cIaI burden 10 the lribe. ..................... Insurance ................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ .a .. ~~~tl'\17 West Main Cortez, Colorado 565-3436 . . ,$., ~ ~ \ '", . . . . . . . . . . ...................................... - '" ""~