Plateau Creek not needed for fishery, groups tell DWCD

Plateau Creek not needed for fishery, groups tell DWCD

Feb. 24, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

Two influential environmental groups are continuing to push for improving fish habitat on the lower Dolores River in a way that does not involve building a new dam.

In a letter to the Dolores Water Conservancy District, top officials from Trout Unlimited and Environmental Defense proposed several possibilities for increasing the amount of water released from McPhee Reservoir — the state’s second largest — for the benefit of native fish.

But they do not include building Plateau Creek dam, a proposed 20,000 acre-foot reservoir located on a small tributary north of McPhee. The option is being sought by the district as a way to store more water needed for augmenting downstream releases out of McPhee dam. The current amount of flow is considered insufficient by state and federal biologists, prompting negotiations for a solution.

The environmental organizations cite an independent hydrology study on the Dolores River, commissioned by them, that shows there is enough unused water in the 380,000 acre-foot reservoir to provide the additional 3,300 acre feet that biologists believed would provide healthier downstream flows.

"Our analysis of the Dolores River system and the Dolores Project continues to be that there are other, less environmentally destructive, less costly means to firm up the fishery pool than the water that would be made available by Plateau Creek Reservoir,"stated Dave Nickum, Executive Director of Trout Unlimited and Jim Martin, senior attorney with Environmental Defense in the letter.

They propose possible sources for increasing the downstream "pool" reserved in McPhee and released for fish. The ideas include rerouting water used for creating the Simon wetlands, revamping operations and management of water releases, purchasing water from the Ute Mountain Tribe, acquiring water in Totten Lake, or purchasing water reserved for overestimated future municipal-and-industrial use in the area.

Paying back the district for instream-flow water rights pumped out of the Dolores River for the Paradox Valley salination program also could provide a source of additional fishery water.

"They seem willing to discuss some these options and that is positive, but right now it is very preliminary," Nickum said Friday. "The Hydrosphere study leads us to believe that there is more water in the system than what is being actively used and managed."

The district board has been adamantly opposed to releasing additional water from McPhee without more storage facilities, arguing that it would unfairly take water away from agricultural users. The district board and DWCD General Manager John Porter dispute the controversial water study as based on flawed data and biased assumptions. They claim that all the water is already allocated, and that the only water available without more storage being built is by temporary lease only.

The issue was discussed by the DWCD board, their attorney, and water development engineers, at a brainstorming session last week, which was closed to the press and public.

If Trout Unlimited and Environmental Defense interpret the district’s stance as failing to negotiate in "good faith," then the case could end up in court, Porter said outside the meeting.

"We will still include Plateau Creek dam in the package for improving the fishery," Porter said. "If we think that they have no grounds to challenge it legally, then that’s it."

Fears that releasing the relatively small amount of additional water for fisheries would somehow threaten agricultural users are unwarranted, Nickum told a Cortez Journal reporter.

"Part of the solution could be to change the operating rules so that the fishery could take more than its dedicated account with the understanding that if we hit a dry cycle, and there is a danger of shortage to the irrigators, than the fishery would have to repay by slipping back to a dry-year level," he said. "That way the fishery takes the risk, rather than irrigators, and we designed it that way specifically."

Nickum stressed the importance of preventing such situations as the extremely low flow that led to a massive fish kills in 1990. That event led to improved fishery management, but increasing the total amount reserved for the fishery pool from 33,200 acre-foot to the recommended 36,500 acre-foot has yet to be accomplished.

"We feel it makes sense to explore non-structural options in a way that is fair," Nickum said. "Our concept is risk management that we believe is not unreasonable and is flexible enough given the amount of water in McPhee. It would operate in a way that maximizes the benefits of wet and average years while minimizing the risks during dry years."

The Dolores Instream Flow Partnership (DRIP), a coalition of agriculture, fishing and rafting representatives will meet in March in Durango to discuss potential solutions and issues regarding McPhee.