While McPhee Reservoir was designed to provide water to the arid landscape of Southwest Colorado, the completion of the project also created a large playground of recreational opportunities in Montezuma and Dolores counties.

Southwest Colorado residents who arrived before the mid-1980s remember the landscape without McPhee Reservoir. They remember when the Dolores River passed under the bridge near Dolores and continued along its narrow way to the northwest, unimpeded by a dam.

The Dolores Water Conservancy District will host a 50th anniversary of the formation of the district and the 25th anniversary of water deliveries to farms and towns from McPhee Reservoir at the Dolores Community Center with a barbecue dinner at noon, followed by a brief recognition ceremony.

Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company’s board of directors got a loud message from their stockholders last May: “we do not want to lease water to maintain instream flows.” Now the board is seeking to understand stockholder concerns. The company, which supplies water to a large ar

To be conducted at the Dolores Community Center. Doors open at 11:00 am, withe a BBQ luncheon at noon. RSVP by November 7th at (970) 565-7562.

Inch by inch, the company hoping to build the nation’s first uranium mill in decades is making progress. Last week, Energy Fuels announced it had reached a settlement with one of its staunchest adversaries regarding the water — at minimum some 144 gallons a minute, according to some reports — in Sheep Mountain Alliance.

The roundtail chub may be swimming to the rescue of the Lower Dolores River. After seven years at the table, the Dolores River Dialogue has found “A Way Forward.” The collaborative effort is rallying around threats to native fish and developing a plan that could aid in the recovery of three species and bring regular flows back to the dry river.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released the July-end status of local reservoirs Jackson Gulch and McPhee. Jackson Gulch reservoir live content stood at 8,594 acre-feet with a 9,977 acre-feet maximum capacity and a 7,306 acre-feet average (1971-2000) end-of-month content.

Nearly two years after receiving go-ahead funding from the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Montezuma County officials are requesting bids for the installation of a breakwater at McPhee Reservoir. The county was granted $151,152 for the establishment of the breakwater from the 2009 Motorboat Access grant program provided by the division of wildlife.

Whitewater boaters can slip on their wetsuits, grab their oars and head for the Lower Dolores River after reservoir management announced a high-flow dam spill planned for the duration of Memorial Day Weekend.