Dolores Water Conservancy District

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

(970) 565-7562

(970) 565-0870 [Fax]
Visit the DWCD Web Site

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 dam itself is 270 feet high and 1,370 feet long. The Project serves diverse interests ranging from traditional agriculture and municipal needs to instream flow, fish, wildlife and wetland habitat.

 

Of the water supplied from McPhee Reservoir by the DWCD, 70 percent (92,500 AF) is used for agricultural purposes, broken down as follows:

 

Full Service Irritation:                 55,400 AF

Ute Mountain Ute:                        23,400 AF

Supplemental Service Irrigation:          13,900 AF

 

Twenty-three percent (29,300 AF) of the water is reserved for fish and wildlife habitat and the remaining seven percent (8,700 AF) is used for municipal and industrial purposes, broken down as follows:

 

Dolores:                             5,200 AF

Cortez:                               2,200 AF

Ute Mountain Ute:                  1,000 AF

Dove Creek:                             280 AF

 

The water is delivered through a sophisticated system of pump plants, canals, and laterals. The Dolores Project includes seven pump plants and 36 pumps with a combined total of 825 cubic feet per second (cfs) capacity and 15,500 horsepower, respectively. There are two canal systems (Dove Creek=46 miles and Towaoc=39 miles) and three lateral systems (Dove Creek=91 miles; Ute Farm and Ranch=22 miles; and Rocky Ford=22 miles).

 

The Dolores Project also includes power generation. The Towaoc Plant is capable of generating 12.9 megawatts (MW) by irrigation flow. The McPhee Plant has a capacity of 1.3 MW of generation by fishery flows.

 

Recreational opportunities at the Dolores Project include two boat launches, five campgrounds (1,160 camp sites), and 13 miles of created fishery. In addition, there is a 40,500 square foot museum and archaeological center that houses over 2 million artifacts from the project area.

Joe Mahaffey, Vice-President (to January 2009)