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<br />r \ <br /> <br />Project water would be distributed by a canal and lateral system con- <br />structed as part of the project. The Dove Creek Canal would be the major <br />project canal. It would receive water pumped from McPhee Reservoir at <br />Great Cut Dike by the Great Cut Pumping Plant and extend about 39 miles <br />northwest to Monument Creek Reservoir. Other project conveyance facilities <br />would include the South Canal, a branch of the Dove Creek Canal; the Dolores <br />Tunnel, extending from McPhee Reservoir to the existing system of the <br />Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company; and the Towaoc Canal extending through <br />the Montezuma Valley to the Towaoc area. All main canals would be open and <br />earthlined. <br /> <br />Sprinkler irrigation systems are planned for all of the full service <br />lands. Lands in the established Montezuma Valley area would continue to <br />be served by existing gravity systems. The sprinkler systems in the Dove <br />Creek area would include six pumping plants to provide pressure at farm <br />turnouts. In the Towaoc area, pressure would be developed in the pipe <br />lateral systems by the difference in elevation between the canal and the <br />irrigated land. The lateral systems would be asbestos-cement and concrete <br />pressure pipes and would be buried (to aid in preservation of the scenery). <br />Project drainage will be provided for the Dove Creek and Towaoc area. <br /> <br />Irrigation scheduling would be implemented on all full service land <br />to assure the application of the proper amount of water for a given crop <br />at the proper time. The ideal quantities and timing of the irrigation <br />applications would be predicted from analyses of temperature, precipitation, <br />solar radiation, and local soil moisture and crop characteristics. <br /> <br />Municipal and industrial water would be available from project features <br />to treatment facilities to be constructed by the water users. The water <br />users would provide facilities for distribution of the water. The project <br />reservoirs--McPhee, Monument Creek and Dawson Draw--would provide new lake <br />fisheries, waterfowl habitat and significant water-oriented recreational <br />opportunities. Basic recreational facilities would be provided>at each of <br />the reservoirs. Fishing and recreational opportunities would be improved <br />at the Narraguinnep, Totten and Ground Hog Reservoirs which now provide <br />irrigation storage for the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company. The water <br />surfaces of these reservoirs would become more stable because the storage <br />of irrigation water would be largely accomplished by McPhee Reservoir. <br /> <br />About 10 miles of a relatively poor stream fishery on the Dolores <br />River would be flooded by McPhee Reservoir. The stream fishery in the <br />river below the reservoir, however, would be greatly enhanced as a result <br />of project operations. The fishery would benefit from reservoir releases <br />made specifically for fish, from controlled spring reservoir releases made <br />in anticipation of spills, and from releases for downstream rights. As u <br />result of the spring releases made in anticipation of spills, white water <br />boating would be maintained and in some aspects improved. Good boating <br />days could be grouped together and accurately predicted, whereas the <br />boating opportunities now are dependent on nature and are unpredictable. <br /> <br />,- <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />2 <br />