Join this dialogue at 6 p.m. July 26 at the Dolores Community Center for a discussion of the 2016 boating release.
A recent editorial (Journal, June 24) refers to the plight of the Dolores River downstream of McPhee dam as a “sad story.”
In reality, McPhee Reservoir and the Dolores Project is a “community story” shaped when the Dolores Project was planned and approved by the voters in the 1970s and built in the 1980s
The sad part of the story is the drought and water shortages driven by the driest 15 years on record beginning in 2000, and the stress that drought has put on human and ecological water needs.
Before McPhee dam, the Dolores River produced variable flushing flows in the spring that attracted an increasing number of boaters. Once flows subsided in early July, the river was reduced to a trickle as the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. continued to exercise its historic irrigation rights.
The building of McPhee Reservoir involved an ecological trade-off. A big benefit of the Dolores Project is that the Dolores River would no longer be reduced to a trickle beginning in June but would have year-round perennial flows to support a fishery.
It was recognized that, given the annual variation in the snowpack, McPhee Reservoir would have excess water to release for boating and ecological flushing flows every other year on average. A collaborative plan is in place to make the most of the recreational and ecological benefits during years when excess water is available for boating, channel flushing and flood plain inundation.
A suite of collaborative venues has been established to promote cooperation among fishery managers, water managers, conservation groups, boaters, counties and private property owners in planning for and monitoring spring releases when they occur and to budget fish pool water allocated to maintain year-round perennial releases.
When there is good carry-over storage in McPhee, with average or above winter snowpack, the managed release can be planned well in advance, with the involvement and cooperation of the full range of interests that derive benefits from a managed release and a full reservoir.
A small managed release, such as 2016, comes off quickly and unpredictably based on spiking temperatures, as reservoir managers juggle irrigation deliveries, boating releases and filling the reservoir.
The 2016 spill worked out well, wrapping five-day boating events around two weekends, with a mid-week pause to ramp down and make sure the reservoir filled.
We are hopeful that filling the reservoir for the first time since 2011 will set up a larger, easier-to-plan managed release in 2017. The Holy Grail of reservoir management is carry-over storage. With good carry-over from filling in 2016, all we need is something close to an average snowpack next winter.
The downside scenario would be continued winter drought. Shortages hurt everyone. In the darkest days of 2013, Dolores Project Irrigators, the fishery and the Ute Mountain Tribal Farm all suffered through a 30-percent water supply.
The Dolores Project resulted in one of the first and most productive Native American water rights settlements in the West; the tribal community of Towaoc has drinkable water for the first time, and operates a highly efficient and productive 7,600-acre tribal farm. The Dolores project supplies irrigation to 28,900 acres of previously dry farmland from Yellow Jacket to Dove Creek, which previously was totally at the mercy of rainfall. Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. can supply full-season irrigation rather than cutting back deliveries in July. The towns of Cortez, Dove Creek and Towaoc have a long-term domestic water supply.
The editorial suggested that irrigation efficiency and less water-intensive crops than alfalfa be considered. Water providers are working on a drought plan that includes increased on-farm efficiency and delivery system improvements that will save farmers money and result in more carry-over storage in McPhee Reservoir.
Many less water-intensive crops are being tested. The biggest success is greatly expanded corn production led by the Ute Mountain tribal farm, which has developed a state-of-the art mill for their non-GMO “Bow and Arrow” brand corn meal products. Most of the alfalfa on the project is high value dairy hay that goes to produce milk, cheese, butter and yogurt – the backbone of our food system.
Meeting the challenges of providing water for farming, domestic use, recreation and the environment is complex and challenging. DWCD invites all who care about McPhee and the Dolores River to engage in the collaborative venues that have been established. Join this dialogue at 6 p.m. July 26 at the Dolores Community Center for a discussion of the 2016 boating release.
Bruce Smart is president of the Dolores Water Conservancy District. Reach him at wbcrsmart@gmail.com.
