PUB00039

• Year: 1992
• Title: Bureau of Reclamation Durango Projects Office Information
• CWCB Section: Water Conservation & Drought Planning
• Description: Information about various Durango projects
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

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DOLORES PROJECT

COLORADO

Authorization

The Dolores Project was authorized by the Colorado River Basin Act of September
30, 1968 (Public Law 90-537) as a participating project under the Colorado
River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956 (Public Law 84-485). The
authorization was based on the feasibility report of the Secretary of the
Interior sent to the Congress on March 17, 1966, and printed as House Document
412, 89th Congress, 2nd Session.

Location

The Dolores Project is located in Montezuma and Dolores Counties in
southwestern Colorado just east of the Colorado-Utah State line and just north
of the Colorado-New Mexico State line. The northeastern edge of the project
lies within the Dolores River Basin and the remainder of the project is in the
San Juan River Basin, both a part of the Upper Colorado River Basin.

The project area includes the city of Cortez, the Montezuma County seat and
major commercial center; the town of Dove Creek, the Dolores County Seat; and
Towaoc, the headquarters of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Smaller farming
communities in the project area including Lewis, Arriola, Lebanon, Cahone,
Pleasant View, and Yellow Jacket. The town of Dolores is located on the
Dolores River just upstream of McPhee Reservoir.

Project Purpose

The Dolores Project is a multipurpose project which develops water from the
Dolores River for irrigation, municipal and industrial use, power production,
salinity control, flood control, recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement.
The project also provides many benefits associated with the cultural resources
and wildlife mitigation measures. Primary storage for all project purposes is
provided by McPhee Reservoir on the Dolores River.

Irrigation

An average annual full service irrigation water supply of 54,300 acre-feet will
be provided for 27,920 acres of land in the Dove Creek area and 22,900
acre-feet of full service water will be provided for 7,500 acres of Ute
Mountain Ute Tribal land in the Towaoc area. The project will also provide an
average annual supplemental irrigation water supply of 13,700 acre-feet of
project water to the existing Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company (MVIC) system
to irrigate 26,300 acres of land. Yater for the Dove Creek area is pumped from
McPhee Reservoir by the Great Cut Pumping Plant and conveyed through the Dove
Creek and South Canals. Pressurized water supplied by pumping plants on the
canals is distributed to project land through buried pipe lateral systems.
Yater for the Towaoc and Montezuma Valley area is conveyed from McPhee
Reservoir through the Dolores Tunnel, Great Cut Dike and the Towaoc Canal.
Pressurized water is distributed to project lands in the Towaoc area through