Collbran Project Project Pages are under construction. Please contact the responsible office for current information. The Collbran Project, in west-central Colorado, has developed, for multiple purposes, a major part of the unused water in Plateau Creek and its principal tributaries. Supplemental irrigation service is furnished to approximately 21,000 acres.
Electrical energy is generated for use in west-central Colorado.
Major project works include Vega Dam and Reservoir, two powerplants, two major diversion dams, about 37 miles of canal, and about 18 miles of pipeline and penstock. East Fork Diversion Dam and Feeder Canal, along with the Bonham-Cottonwood Collection System, carry water to Bonham Reservoir, which supplies water to operate the Molina powerplants. The project also rehabilitated and modified the operation of 17 small privately owned storage reservoirs on the Grand Mesa situated in the Cottonwood Creek and Big Creek watersheds. Two of the reservoirs, Blackman and Currier, were subsequently breached. Fifteen reservoirs now provide water for power generation through the exchange of storage water on Grand Mesa for irrigation water from Vega Reservoir.