PROJ00159

• Contract/PO #: C153305
• Contractor Name: Dolores Water Conservancy District
• Water District: 0
• County: Dolores
• Bill Number: XB 99-999
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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B. WATER SUPPLY AND UTILIZATION

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Streamflow:

Recorded streamflows and water resources in the Dolores Basin have been enumerated

by the Bureau of Reclamation in its "Definite Plan Report" .2/ A table from the

bureau report which summarizes adjusted flows at the McPhee Dam site is included

in the Appendix (Table A-2). Further consideration of these items as well as the

recreational and fish and wildlife benefits to be derived from the Dolores Project

will not be made in this study. Instead, an adequate supply of water to the treat-

ment plants is assumed to be provided with the additional 8700 acre-feet allocated

for annual municipal and industrial use. Table A-3 in the Appendix is taken from

the bureau report, and itemizes the distribution of demand for the various users.

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Municipal and Industrial Supplies:

The definite plan report prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation for the Dolores

Project dated April, 1977, concludes that water supplies prior to the project

development are inadequate for present municipal and industrial needs. Little

reserve is available to meet the needs of anticipated population increases without

the Dolores Project. Therefore, various areas within the Dolores Water Conser-

vancy District have requested water in the amount of 8,700 acre feet annually dis-

tributed as follows: 6,200 acre feet has been purchased by the City of Cortez,

600 acre feet by the town of Dove Creek, 900 acre feet by the Dolores Water

Conservancy District to be used for serving rural areas, and 1,000 acre feet is

reserved for the Ute Mountain Indian Tribe at Towaoc. The bureau has further

determined that the amounts of water listed above are justified for the projected

water use by the year 2030.

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A contract has been formulated between the DWCD and the bureau, for the disposition

of project waters in accordance with the allotment petitions. The Conservancy

District has in turn, secured letters of "intentional commitment" from both Cortez

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and Dove Creek, and appears very close to reaching an agreement with Towaoc.---

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The Town of Dolores and Montezuma Water Company own sufficient water rights for

present day and foreseeable future demands (refer to Section C. "Water Rights")

However, treatment capacity for these entities may be limited.

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