As farmers struggle to make do with severe water cuts, Cortez agreed to lease some of its water to the Dolores Water Conservancy District for agricultural operations.
“This decision reflects the city’s commitment to regional cooperation and its recognition of the vital role of the agricultural community ... in our economic and cultural fabric here in the greater Cortez area,” City Manager Drew Sanders said during the May 12 City Council meeting.
He proposed leasing 1,000 acre feet of municipal and industrial water to DWCD at $20.32 per acre foot, a measure agreed upon by the council and ratified by the DWCD.
“Now, 1,000 acre feet, that’s really not enough to move the needle much for farmers, but it’s better than nothing,” Sanders said in an interview with The Journal.
He added that the city is living well within its means and protecting its own resources by leasing the water which would otherwise go unused.
“At our highest use case during the summer, we still do not touch this,” Sanders said. “It would not be used anyways by us, even given this year.”
Ken Curtis, general manager for the DWCD, said that while the impact is marginal, the situation is dire, with all the available water in the Dolores River already portioned out to users.
“There’s none left in the Dolores. It’s all spoken for,” Curtis said.
The district is able to supply farmers with less than 15% of their normal water allocation, with the Cortez lease raising the supply about 0.4 inches.
“They’re supposed to have 22 inches per season. And they were at 3.1 (inches). So this raises them a little bit to about 3.5 inches,” Curtis said.
Last year, farmers supplied by DWCD received about half of their allocation, making the shortage highly abnormal, according to Curtis. Options are limited but the DWCD plans to approach Dove Creek, which has a smaller water allocation, with a similar proposal.
“We’re just trying to get through a terrible season and hope it snows next winter,” Curtis said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
