Porter wins Western Water Congress' Aspinall Award

Porter wins Western Water Congress' Aspinall Award

Feb. 3, 2000

JOHN PORTER, general manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District, poses with the oil painting of McPhee Dam that he was awarded as the 20th annual Wayne N. Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award by the Colorado Water Congress last week.

By David Grant Long

The name of the late Colorado Congressman Wayne Aspinall will forever remain synonymous with the giant water projects that were essential to the taming and development of the American Southwest.

So it is only fitting that the longtime manager of the agency that oversees the Dolores Project, very possibly the last of the major dams that will be built in the U.S., received the Wayne N. Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award during the annual convention of the Colorado Water Congress in Denver last week.

Dolores Water Conservancy District General Manager John Porter, the 20th recipient of the award, has directed the continuing development and allocation of the project's resources for the past two decades.

Lake McPhee, created by constructing a dam across the Dolores River, supplies irrigation water to many of the agricultural operations in Montezuma and Dolores counties -- including those of the Ute Mountain Ute
Tribe -- as well as municipal and industrial water to Cortez, Dove Creek and other areas of the county.

The prestigious award is given to "that person exemplifying the courage, dedication, knowledge and leadership qualities of Wayne N. Aspinall in the
development, protection and preservation of the water of the state of Colorado," according to the guidelines of the selection committee. And Porter easily meets this standard, those who have worked closely with him agree, and is a deserving addition to the list of past winners, which includes former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, former state Sen. Fred Anderson and Durango water attorney Sam Maynes.

"It's a real honor and we're just all tickled to death," said DWCD board president Don Schwindt yesterday. "We're all really proud of the Dolores Project -- we think it's vital to our community," Schwindt added. "(The DWCD) is a leading organization in water business statewide and John has been at the helm of that leadership. "John and I have worked together for many years and our community has been really privileged to have his expertise."

Porter is himself a product of the local agricultural community, growing up on a farm in Lewis and graduating from Cortez High School before attending Colorado State University in Fort Collins and receiving a degree in -- what else? -- agriculture.

It was at CSU that Porter wooed and won his wife Nancy, who, after they returned to Lewis in 1955, taught in the Cortez school system for many years along with helping him operate their own farm. Along the way, they raised two daughters, who are now married with families of their own.

Porter was selected for the honor by a group composed of past recipients and CWC officers, explained Dick MacRavey, the organization's executive director, who in 1980 created the unique award -- an oil painting of the water project in which the recipient has played a key role.

"I knew Wayne Aspinall and was a great admirer," MacRavey recalled Tuesday. "I didn't like the idea of plaques or scrolls (for the award) and asked what
else could be done."

Dick Bratton, a water attorney in Gunnison, then suggested the one-of-a-kind paintings be commissioned.

Selection for the award is decided upon "basically who emulates Mr. Aspinall -- Mr. Chairman," MacRavey said, and Porter's work in water development fits this description well.

"John is very thoughtful and a doer -- he's not a spur-of-the-moment individual," MacRavey said. "He's so well-respected and very careful about how he presents himself and deals with issues that people really admire him.

"He's an individual who has a nice way of dealing with issues and people respect that type of leadership," he added, including the federal agencies involved in water management. "John gets things done quietly -- he isn't an individual who comes on strong and gets people all riled up.

"I think that's very significant," he added. "It's a big difference from the kind of person who tells other people to go to hell and makes them look forward to the trip."