P.O. Box 1150
60 South Cactus
Cortez, CO 81321

(970) 565-7562

(970) 565-0870 [Fax]
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The Dolores Water Conservancy District (DWCD) was formed in 1961. The DWCD was successful in obtaining Congressional authorization for the Dolores Project (McPhee Reservoir) in1968. In 1977, local voters, by a 94 percent margin approved the Project and accepted a repayment obligation to the United States of up to $26 million. President Carter delayed construction in 1978. Primarily because of the influence of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began construction on McPhee Reservoir in 1980, with completion in 1986. McPhee Reservoir has a 381,000 acre-foot (AF) capacity and covers 4,470 acres of land in the Montezuma Valley of southwest Colorado. The Project serves diverse interests ranging from traditional agriculture and municipal needs to instream flow, fish, wildlife and wetland habitat.

MANAGEMENT