Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Bureau personnel made inspections of. most of the reservoirs along <br />with the. Association Directors and Forest Service Personnel on June 19 <br />and 20, 1968. Some of the reservoirs were inspected again on September <br />25, 1969. <br /> <br />. . <br />These res~rvoirs need more maintenance than they have had during <br />.past ,years. The Forest Service and State Engineers representatives <br />would like to see the Association improve its maintenance of the res- <br />ervoirs. Several of the dams still have outside gates so a plan should <br />be developed to accomplish their replacement with inside gates. <br /> <br />It is estimated that better maintenance will require about $2,500 <br />per year and that the replacement of gates will require about $5,000 <br />per year. This amounts to a total increase of $7,500 per year for <br />maintenance and replacements in addition to present operation and <br />maintenance cost of the Leroux Creek facilities. <br /> <br />Financial Analysis <br /> <br />As shown on page 3 ,the present total average annual Project <br />O&M based on 1968, 69, and 70 costs is $30,000. Bureau of Reclamation <br />personnel estimate that additional annual maintenance of aqout $12,000 <br />is needed on. the Fire Mountain Canal and about $7,500 on the Leroux <br />Creek facilities. Future estimated O&M cost is tabulated below: <br /> <br />Present O&M <br />Increase F.M.C. <br />Increase Leroux Creek <br />Total O&M Cost <br />Requirement Repayment Contract <br />Total Annual Cost <br /> <br />= $30,000 <br />= 12,000 <br />= 7,500 <br />49,500 <br />34,118 <br />$83,618 <br /> <br />- includes District <br />Fire Mountain Canal <br />Leroux Creek W.U.A. <br /> <br />Co. <br /> <br />Total estimated annual payment capacity as developed on page 5 <br />is $88,500 1/ based on the May 1957 Definite PIan Report.,..} 'The present <br />payment capacity, based on 1969 Grand Mesa Project Feasibility Studies, <br />is about $121,900. The present estimated annual cost of $83,618 is <br />still within the $88,500 estimated payment capacity of the 1957 report. <br /> <br />1/ Includes $6,000 from District ad valorem tax based on tax at the <br />rate of 1 mill. <br /> <br />Conclusions and Recommendations <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />A large canal lining program as proposed by the District does.not <br />appear to be essential if proper operation and maintenance is performed <br />on the canal. It would reduce annual maintenance costs, but when the <br />economy of a large construction cOst of $1,000,000 or more is compared <br />to a fairly 10w annual maintenance cost reduction of $10,000 .to $15,000, <br />the large lining program is not economically justified. <br /> <br />Land values in the project area have more than doubled since the <br />construction of the Paonia Project. This would indicate a veryhealthy <br />economy in the area and would support increasing the estimated payment <br />capacity up to $121,900 if necessary. This would be about 35 percent <br />