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ally- funded water storage and develop- ment project in Colorado, the Dolores Project is also one of the most efficient. All irrigation water provided to its full - service area is metered through pressur- ized pipelines and applied by sprinklers. Individual meters allow irrigators to pay only for what they use —a strong incen- tive for conservation that breaks the effi- ciency- defeating attitude, "I paid for it and I'm going to use it." Without the evaporation and seepage losses associated with open canals, "Our delivery system is as much as 96 percent efficient," notes Philip Saletta, Dolores Conservancy District general manager. And although it costs considerably more to deliver water by pressurized pipeline than ditch, Saletta says that when coupled with high- efficiency sprinkler irrigation systems, farmers can still come out ahead financially and save water. Still, charged with management of a project that serves sometimes divergent water needs, the district cannot afford to rest on its laurels. According to Don Schwindt, president of the conservancy's board of directors, one of the district's main challenges in coming years will be to balance desires to expand irrigated acreage, with desires to allocate more water for fish and wildlife habitat in the lower Dolores River. Long -terms plans have taken shape in what they call the "Water for Everyone Tomorrow Package" or WETPACK. John Porter, former manager of the dis- trict for 22 years and still a consultant, said he coined the catchy acronym partly in jest. "You never get enough water for everyone," Porter acknowledges with a laugh. Unlike many other areas of the state and nation, where farmers are selling their water to the highest bidder, Porter says Montezuma irrigators are actually looking for more water to expand their operations. To support this economic development, this fall, the first phase of WETPACK will begin installation of the pipes and pumps necessary to deliver water to approximately 3,000 previously unirrigated acres. To accomplish this, 6,000 acre -feet of water was recently purchased from the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company. It was a popular move. Owners of more than 13,000 acres, Porter notes, expressed interest in the first phase of WETPACK. "That is a phenomenal testament to the success of the Dolores Project and the benefit that transbasin diversion of water means to the economy of the area," he says. "That's one of the stories of the Dolores Project that's so important," agrees Schwindt, a Stanford - educated farmer who grows alfalfa near his native Cortez. According to Schwindt, this project has kept water in agriculture, opened up new lands for cultivation, and substantially boosted the economy of this remote rural area. But what about the fish? After the first transbasin diversion from the Dolores River more than 100 years ago, few fish survived in what little water the river had left, especially in late summer. "From the time of the first diversion in 1886, the Dolores was a dry, dead river below that diversion during irrigation season," acknowledges Porter. Yet when cold water was first released from McPhee Dam in the mid- 1980s, the Dolores quickly began to develop a reputa- tion as one of the West's finest tailwater fish- eries, featuring good -sized brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout. However, a decade later, full use of the reservoir and pro- longed drought dropped river flows drasti- cally and downstream fisheries declined by more than 50 percent. In 2002 -2003, the reservoir was releasing only 14 cubic feet per second at certain critical times of the year— barely a trickle. In an effort to regain the fisheries, ini- tial re- operation of the reservoir allowed for lower winter flows in exchange for larger releases for instream flows in the summer months. But concern continues that additional water is needed to guard against dry years and maintain the health of the ecosystem. To help address this concern, in its second phase WETPACK in looking at the potential to provide an additional 3,300 acre -feet, increasing the amount of water available for fish and wildlife from 29,200 to 36,500 acre -feet. To provide the addi- tional water, a new reservoir call Plateau Creek has been proposed. As part of this planning, the district is also participating in a stakeholder discussion group known as the Dolores Dialog. In Colorado today, the Dolores Project is a high -tech leader in efficient agricultural water deliveries, also incorporating service to local municipalities, fisheries, and the tribes. By making the most efficient and best use if its water, Schwindt is convinced that in future years the conservancy district will continue to be a pioneer in reconciling competing water uses that contribute to both the region's economy and quality of life. And the results may provide a proto- type for how other water storage projects must function in the future. "It's the first of what the West needs to do in the future," he insists. ❑