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<br />Municipal and industrial water will be furnished to Cortez, to Dove <br />Creek, to the rural areas, and to the Indian community in the vicinity <br />of Towaoc. <br /> <br />Up to this time, no water has been adjudicated or allocated to the <br />Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation under the terms of the treaty of <br />1868. While the relationship between the two Ute tribes in Colorado <br />a~d the Colorado state government have been better than in other <br />stat~s, there are still areas of conflict which must be resolved. <br />There'are unmet needs of the Ute people which should be served by the <br />state.of Colorado and there are federal revenue sharing programs that <br />will.,surely require more and better communication and cooperation <br />between the tribes and the state government. <br /> <br />The Ute Mountain Ute tribe now hauls its drinking water on a daily <br />basis from the town of Cortez, a round trip of approximately 24 miles. <br />The Indians have purchased a small amount of water from the Montezuma <br />Valley Irrigation Company and irrigate a small tract of land near <br />the Indian community of Towaoc. As an interim solution to the com- <br />munity water supply, a small treatment and sewage system is being <br />constructed on the reservation to utilize the irrigation water for <br />domestic purposes. <br /> <br />The Dolores project will furnish irrigation water for about 3,000 <br />acres of Indian lands in the Towaoc area and an additional 1,000 acre- <br />feet of water annually for domestic water supplies for the tribal <br />community. This supply for the Indian tribe is being planned as an <br />integral part of the Dolores project. In dry years, springs dry up <br />and many head of livestock are lost. <br /> <br />Business expansions in employment and opportunities resulting from <br />1,000 acres of new land are: Sales and servicing of 25 automobiles; <br />addition of one retail store and payroll of $229,000 in secondary <br />jobs; expanded markets of these products and $27,000 for food; $7,700 <br />for apparel; $11,900 for general merchandizing; $6,400 for home fur- <br />nishings; $25,700 for automobiles and supplies; $4,400 in medical <br />supplies; and $43,300 for unclassified sales. This is income of <br />1,000 acres and the Utes will have production of 3,000. One can <br />readily see the benefits of the balance of the entire district because <br />only 47% of the land is now under irrigation. <br /> <br />The economy impact on the San Juan basin as the result of the eventual <br />construction of these projects will be tremendous. The Four Corners <br />area of the state is a depressed area and one out of every four is <br /> <br />-15- <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />