The Dolores Water Conservancy District that manages McPhee Reservoir is seeking public comment on a new Drought Contingency Plan.
The district along with Montezuma Irrigation Company and Ute Mountain Farm and Ranch worked with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Colorado Division of Water Resources on the plan. It was funded by a Reclamation WaterSmart grant.
The draft plan is a comprehensive evaluation of mitigation and response actions to reduce water shortages and provide greater drought resiliency for water users.
Some of the ideas for drought management include:
Measuring stations within irrigation systems to reduce operational spills.Irrigation efficiency improvements.Connecting existing irrigated lands near the Ute Mountain Casino to the Rocky Flats Lateral.High pressure improvements for the Hovenweep delivery system.Construction of a new reservoir to increase water supplies for fishery, municipal and industrial needs.Explore pumpback projects from Totten Reservoir into the Towaoc Highline Canal. Explore a pumpback project from McElmo Creek back to Totten Reservoir.Enlargement of Groundhog reservoir for additional water for use as drought mitigation.Assessments of individual instigators practices to improve efficiencies.Funding for cloud seeding programs.To view the report go to www.doloreswater.com or click here.
Please provide your comments by email to: comments@durangowater.com. Comments are due no later than close of business on June 23, 2017.
A public meeting will be held on June 7, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the DWCD Cortez Office, 60 Cactus St. The purpose of the meeting is to collect comments and facilitate dialogue surrounding the draft plan.