WSP06943

• File Number: 8220.106
• Description: Animas-La Plata
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 7/1/1994
• Author: USDOI-OIG
• Title: Audit Report - Development Status of the Dolores and the Animas-La Plata Projects - Bureau of Reclamation
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

75 percent of the Animas-La Plata Project's development costs would be incurred in
constructing the off-stream Ridges Basin Reservoir and associated conduit to store
water pumped from the Animas River near Durango, Colorado. In phase two, the
remaining development costs would be incurred in constructing the off-stream
Southern Ute Reservoir to store water diverted by a canal from the La Plata River
near the Colorado-New Mexico State line, In addition, other facilities, including
those necessary to distribute and deliver water to irrigators and to municipal and
industrial users, will be constructed during both stages, but the Federal Government
will not be responsible for financing or constructing facilities in the second phase,
The allocation of the water supplies to be developed by these two projects for both
Indian and non-Indian water users is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Project Water Allocations by Function

Function
Municipal and Industrial water
Indian
Non,lndian
Total municipal and industrial waler
Irrigation waler
Indian - Full service
Non-Indian
Full service
Supplemental service
Total irrigation water

Animas-La
Dolores Plata
(Amounts in Acre-Feet)'

Total" .

1,000 40,100
7.700 40.000
8,700 80.100
22,900 29,700
54,300' 68,700
13.700 16.900
90.900 115.300
99.600 195.400

. An aae-foot of waler is equal 10 325.851 gallons. or the amount of water needed to submerge 1 aae
of land under 1 foot of waler.

.. About 76 percent of the non-Indian aaeage receiving full service waler has been developed, with the
remaining aaeage either undeveloped (13 percent) or in the Department of Agriculture's crop reserve
program (11 percent).

... The water developed by the Dolores Project will all be utilized in the Stale of Colorado. The water
developed by the Animas-La Plala Project will be utilized in both the States of Colorado (141,700 aae-
(eel) and New Mexico (53,700 atte-(eet).

The current cost allocation and the planned repayment for the two projects are
summarized in Appendix 2. Costs allocated to the power and municipal and
industrial water functions will be repaid by beneficiaries and returned to the
U.S. Treasury with interest, while costs allocated to the irrigation function will be

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