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directly into the new canal. According to the Definite Plan Report, the Dolores Project would <br />provide the Indian Tribe with an average of 22,900 acre-feet of water for a full service <br />irrigation supply on approximately 7,500 acres southwest of Towaoc. Deliveries to the Indian <br />lands began in 1994 and currently about 3,200 acres (43 percent) are being irrigated. <br />Another maj or feature of the Dolores Proj ect is the Dove Creek Canal (WDID 322006) which <br />will provide an estimated 54,300 acre-feet of irrigation water to approximately 27,860 acres of <br />full service land in the vicinity of Pleasant View, Cahone and Dove Creek, Colorado. Project <br />water for the Dove Creek Canal is delivered by pumping from the outlet works of the Great <br />Cut Dike (WDID 714676). The Dove Creek Canal extends in a northwesterly direction to lands <br />that are located in the headwaters of drainages tributary to McElmo Creek (35 percent ~) and <br />drainages that are tributary to the San Juan River downstream of McElmo Creek (65 percent <br />~). Irrigation water was first delivered to the Dove Creek Canal in 1988, as the project <br />operation was phased in. <br />Currently, the largest of the municipal water allocations in McPhee Reservoir is that of the city <br />of Cortez (6,200 acre-feet). This water is used to supplement the city's senior direct flow water <br />rights out of the Dolores River (See discussion under the documentation of the MVIC system). <br />The water would be delivered through the Dolores Tunnel (WDID 714675) and recorded by <br />the division engineer under WDID 320680. Recently, the city has requested that its allocation <br />be reduced to 2,300 acre-feet. Municipal water for the town of Dove Creek (allocated 600 acre- <br />feet in McPhee Reservoir) is delivered via the Dove Creek Canal and the Indian M & I water <br />(allocated 1,000 acre-feet in McPhee Reservoir) is delivered through the Dolores Tunnel where <br />it is treated by the city of Cortez. The water then is delivered through a new pipeline to <br />Towaoc. <br />A large portion of the Dolores project water supply (29,300 acre-feet) is reserved for <br />downstream recreational and fishery purposes. Each year, water is released from this account <br />upon the request of a biology committee, which schedules the releases after consideration of <br />the natural flow in the river and the spills flowing past the McPhee Dam. These releases are <br />debited against the fish and wildlife pool, unless the reservoir spills are in excess of the <br />monthly target flows listed below. In this case, the releases are not debited against the 29,300 <br />acre-foot account. This method of operation provides significant flexibility with respect to <br />managing the fishery habitat. <br />Fish and Wildlife Target Releases <br />November 30 cfs March 40 cfs July 70 cfs <br />December 30 cfs April 40 cfs August 70 cfs <br />January 30 cfs May 50 cfs September 50 cfs <br />February 30 cfs June 70 cfs October 40 cfs <br />In the operation of McPhee reservoir, releases are also made for senior water rights on the <br />Dolores River, downstream of the Reservoir. Consistent with the original USBR planning <br />studies, this release is 3,900 acre-feet per year, generally about 8 cfs in the summer months and <br />3 cfs in the winter months. The major water rights owned by the Dolores Water Conservancy <br />District for operation of the Project are summarized in the following table. This list does not <br />include several small senior irrigation rights, owned by the USBR, which are stored in McPhee <br />San Juan & Dolores River Basin Information 2-14 <br />