Records of the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company

Since 1920, the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company (MVIC), a mutual ditch company, has played an important role in the expansion and operation of agriculture in Colorado's Montezuma Valley. The arid climate of southwest Colorado necessitates some form of irrigation for agriculture and settlement, and the influx of European settlers starting in the 1880s drove a large need for more water and an organized irrigation system.

Before the creation of MVIC, other companies developed irrigation projects in attempts to bring new water into the valley. One of the early companies, the Montezuma Valley Water Supply Company, which was backed by eastern investment, started construction on a mile-long tunnel to bring water from the Dolores River to the Montezuma Valley in 1885. In 1889, the Montezuma Tunnel was completed and the water began to flow into the valley; however, farmers and ranchers had spent significant time excavating the tunnel and had not prepared their lands for the water. With few customers, the Montezuma Valley Water Supply Company did not last. Other water supply and irrigation companies filled the void but also struggled to recruit customers and generate income.

In 1902, farmers and ranchers formed the Montezuma Valley Irrigation District (MVID) after becoming frustrated with the irrigation companies. In 1907, the district acquired the irrigation system through a "floated" bond. Part of the bond included money for an overhaul and expansion of the system including the construction of two large reservoirs. After signing a contract with MVID, the Empire Construction Company began enlarging Narraguinnep Reservoir and building Groundhog Reservoir in 1907. However, Groundhog Reservoir washed out shortly after the beginning of construction and was not finished until the 1930s.

MVID continued to have problems with faulty construction and inadequate plans for the reconstruction of ditches, flumes, and tunnels. Indebtedness also plagued the district as many landowners did not pay their toll charges. After a federal court in Denver ruled that each member of MVID was considered to be in debt as long as the district remained in debt, the members had little incentive to pay their fees. The problems and politics of this mutual liability led to the end of MVID in 1920.

The same year, George Carlson, ex-governor of Colorado, proposed a plan to create the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company that involved individual liability for irrigation debts. The district members overwhelmingly accepted this plan and MVIC was incorporated on November 1, 1920. MVIC did not accept federal money until the 1930s, when it formed the Montezuma Valley Public Irrigation District in order to obtain money from the Public Works Administration to rebuild Groundhog Reservoir. When completed, the reservoir added 5,000 to 6,000 acre feet of water to the irrigation system each year. Throughout the next few decades, MVIC continued to enlarge and improve its system by replacing many of the wooden headgates with steel and concrete, enlarging canals, expanding Narraguinnep Reservoir, and completing Totten Lake.

The need for a larger reservoir that would capture the floodwaters of the Dolores River was foreseen as early as 1900, but not until 1977 did the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation break ground on an expansive project including the construction of McPhee Reservoir. After many technical setbacks and threats of funding loss, McPhee Dam was completed in 1984 and the new Dolores Tunnel was completed in 1985. The Dolores Project benefitted MVIC as it received additional storage that extended the irrigation season into October.

Headquartered in Cortez, MVIC continues to operate and provide southwest Colorado farmers and ranchers much needed water to increase productivity and diversify crops.