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Oct. 5, 1999 Journal Staff Report Anyone who believes he or she can use additional Dolores Project agricultural water can still make their bids for it, area residents were reminded today. Oct. 29 is the deadline to submit petitions for more water under the new "WETPACK" (Water for Everyone Tomorrow Package) plan to increase Montelores irrigation activity by more than 3,000 acres. Many area farmers and ranchers have already made requests, the total of which is for more than twice that acreage, the Dolores Water Conservancy District board of directors announced. But the offer is still open to any who thinks they can be served by the new water. Irrigators in the Dolores Project area have already petitioned to be able to buy portions of more than 6,000 acre-feet of water being made available through purchase from the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co., district general manager John Porter said Oct. 1, when about 40 farm and ranch operations had already submitted petitions. Porters said he expected several more petitions by the Oct. 29 deadline. Publishing Notices Public notices ("legals") are being published three times each in the coming issues of local newspapers, advertising the request for petitions. Porter said that after the closing of the offers, the water district will review each petition and base its allocations on certain criteria. The offer is open to all involved in agriculture in the area, but the board will give priority to lands which will be in the best interests of the DWCD to serve, first taking into account the capacity of the Dolores Project facilities to deliver the new water and the feasibility of each proposal. The most efficient and least costly methods of delivery and availability also will be major factors. Porter pointed out that because the "full-service" part of the Dolores Project is served in irrigation blocks and is most efficient, priority will be given to farmers who can expand their operation or create new irrigable lands there. Also taken into account will be the economic savings enabled by the pressurized delivery system in the full-service area. Ultimately, Porter added, the district also reserves the right to solicit unpetitioned lands if it is in the best interest of the District to do so. Prices, costs and further details are outlined in the public notices. Directors of the District plan to have the criteria set by December and then complete plans and set a public hearing in 2000. Porter said that the district had already experienced such allocation criteria setting when it redistributed water abandoned by some original full-service project repayment contract signers a few years ago. It was stressed that this offer is for 6,000 acre-feet of water to be purchased by the DWCD from the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. and to be used to open about 3,000 more acres of land to irrigation. Among the items of agreement in the water purchase is the specification that the water will be used exclusively for agricultural irrigation within the area (those not in the district who get the new water will be required to join the DWCD). Another part of the WETPACK plan includes construction of a reservoir or reservoirs or other storage facilities to catch and store water from the spring snowmelt runoff when there is enough to require "spilling" downstream through McPhee Dam. This would be new, unclaimed Dolores River water, which could then be used to supplement 3,300 acre-feet still being sought to guarantee the supply for the downstream fishery below McPhee Dam at 36,500 acre-feet. At present, the 3,300 acre-feet is being leased from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. That lease will run out in two years. |
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