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<br />DOLORES PROJECT <br /> <br />PLA~ OF DEVELOPXENT <br /> <br />The Dolores Project would develop water from the Dolores River for <br />irrigation, municipal and industrial use, recreation, and fish and wild- <br />life. It would also provide flood control and aid in area economic <br />redevelopment. Service would be provided to the Dove Creek and ~lontezuma <br />Vallev areas in the Dolores Water Conservancv District and the Towaoc <br />area on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. <br /> <br />Primary storage for all project purposes would be provided bv XcPhee <br />Reservoir on the Dolores River. Secondary storage for municipal and <br />industrial water would be provided by Monument Creek Resen'oir, which <br />would receive water diverted from ~cPhee Reservoir. Dawson Draw Res- <br />ervoir would be constructed specifically for fish and wildlife and would <br />be supplied primarily from irrigation return flows. <br /> <br />Irrigation water would be provided for full service land in the Dove <br />Creek and Towaoc areas and for supplemental service land in the Xonte- <br />zuma Vallev area. Water for the Dove Creek area would be pumped from <br />McPhee Reservoir by the Great Cut Pumping Plant and conveved through the <br />Dove Creek Canal and its branch, the South Canal. Water for the Towaoc <br />area would be conveved from the reservoir in the Dolores Tunnel and the <br />Dolores and Towaoc Canals. Buried pipe lateral systems would distribute <br />the water to farms in both areas. The Montezuma Valley area ~ould be <br />served by the Dolores Tunnel and Canal and an existing gravity distribu- <br />tion system. <br /> <br />Municipal and industrial water supplies for Cortez and Towaoc would be <br />stored in McPhee Reservoir and delivered to the towns by the Dolores <br />Tunnel and Canal and the Cortez-Towaoc Pipeline. Supplies for Dove <br />Creek and surrounding rural areas would be conveyed in the Dove Creek <br />Canal and regulated in Monument Creek Reservoir. The water users <br />would be responsible for any required treatment and distribution <br />facilities. <br /> <br />Recreation facilities would be provided at McPhee and Monument Creek <br />Reservoirs and along the Dolores River downstream from McPhee Dam. <br />Project water would be released from McPhee Reservoir to provide oppor- <br />tunities for white-water boating and a stream fishery, and easements <br />would be acquired along the river for public access. Land around McPhee <br />Reservoir would be acquired and managed as a deer and elk ~inter range <br />to compensate for losses of big game habitat in the reservoir basin. <br />Wildlife management areas would also be developed around Monument Creek <br />and Dawson Draw Reservoirs. <br />