Reclamation's Western Colorado Area Office provides or oversees the operation, management, and maintenance of several projects on the mainstem of the Upper Colorado River and its Upper Basin tributaries (Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and Dolores Rivers). These projects include: Bostwick Park, Collbran, Dallas Creek, Dolores, Fruitgrowers, Grand Valley, Paonia, Silt, Smith Fork, Uncompahgre, and the Paradox Valley Unit of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project. The WCAO sets operations for the Aspinall Unit (Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal Dams) and coordinates those plans with the Upper Colorado Regional Office for inclusion in mainstem Colorado River operations. Additionally, the WCAO is involved in activities in the Yampa and White River Basins.
The WCAO also provides environmental and repayment contract support for the construction of the Animas-La Plata Project. The project consists of both structural and non-structural components to satisfy the Colorado Ute Tribes' water rights claims on the Animas and La Plata Rivers in southwestern Colorado.