Animas-La Plata Water Project
Encyclopedia
The Animas-La Plata water project is a water project under construction designed to fulfill the water rights settlement of the Ute Mountain
and the Southern Ute
tribes of the Ute Nation in Colorado, USA.
The project had been a subject of congressionally funded studies, public debate, presidential cancellation, congressional debate, congressional action and congressional inaction for nearly four decades. The original congressional authorization for the United States Bureau of Reclamation
project came in 1968 to supply 191200 acre.ft of water for irrigation, industrial and municipal water supply use in Colorado
and New Mexico
. The project still had to go through design and receive the necessary permitting. It was 1980 before the final environmental impact statement was approved and released. Construction was expected to begin in 1980 or 1981, however, President Carter
ordered that no new water projects be started. In 1996–97, Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and his lieutenant governor, Gail Schoettler, undertook a major initiative to bring supporters and opponents together to address and resolve the issues and gain consensus on project alternatives. In 1998, the Department of the Interior issued a recommendation for a substantially scaled-down project designed primarily to satisfy Native American water rights, along with municipal and industrial needs in the immediate area secondarily, and completely excluding other non-Indian irrigation systems.
The current design includes the construction of a 280 cubic feet per second (7.9 m³/s) pumping plant on the Animas River
just south of downtown Durango, Colorado; an underground pipeline to carry project water from the pumping plant to the reservoir location, and an off-stream reservoir
at Ridges Basin, southwest of Durango. This reservoir will store about 120000 acre.ft of water to be pumped from the Animas River on the south end of Durango. In addition, the project includes a future buried pipeline from the Farmington, New Mexico
, area to the Shiprock, New Mexico, area, supplying water for Navajo Nation usage.
Project completion is scheduled for 2012. The reservoir could begin to be filled in the fall of 2009.
Colorado°N date=June 2009°W
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is one of three federally recognized tribes of the Ute Nation, and are mostly descendants of the historic Weeminuche Band who moved to the Southern Ute reservation in 1897...
and the Southern Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
tribes of the Ute Nation in Colorado, USA.
The project had been a subject of congressionally funded studies, public debate, presidential cancellation, congressional debate, congressional action and congressional inaction for nearly four decades. The original congressional authorization for the United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
project came in 1968 to supply 191200 acre.ft of water for irrigation, industrial and municipal water supply use in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The project still had to go through design and receive the necessary permitting. It was 1980 before the final environmental impact statement was approved and released. Construction was expected to begin in 1980 or 1981, however, President Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
ordered that no new water projects be started. In 1996–97, Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and his lieutenant governor, Gail Schoettler, undertook a major initiative to bring supporters and opponents together to address and resolve the issues and gain consensus on project alternatives. In 1998, the Department of the Interior issued a recommendation for a substantially scaled-down project designed primarily to satisfy Native American water rights, along with municipal and industrial needs in the immediate area secondarily, and completely excluding other non-Indian irrigation systems.
The current design includes the construction of a 280 cubic feet per second (7.9 m³/s) pumping plant on the Animas River
Animas River
Animas River is a river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River, part of the Colorado River System. The Spanish named the river "Rio de las Animas Perdidas", "River of the Lost Souls". It is also the last free-flowing river in Colorado. The river's free-flowing status...
just south of downtown Durango, Colorado; an underground pipeline to carry project water from the pumping plant to the reservoir location, and an off-stream reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
at Ridges Basin, southwest of Durango. This reservoir will store about 120000 acre.ft of water to be pumped from the Animas River on the south end of Durango. In addition, the project includes a future buried pipeline from the Farmington, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, area to the Shiprock, New Mexico, area, supplying water for Navajo Nation usage.
Project completion is scheduled for 2012. The reservoir could begin to be filled in the fall of 2009.
External links
Colorado°N date=June 2009°W