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<br />~ . <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />, 4). CWCB Pre-Application Form for Construction Loan Fund. <br /> <br />Loveland owns raw water supplies from four sources, in two river basins. The City treats this water at the <br />Chasteen Grove Water Treatment Plant, located on the banks of the Big Thompson River in the foothills about <br />seven miles west of the city limits. Water is diverted directly from the river into the plant, or farther upstream <br />through portions of the CBT system facilities and through the City's emergency storage reservoir, commonly <br />known as Green Ridge Glade Reservoir, after leaving the CBT system facilities. A system schematic is <br />attached for illustration. The current 600 ac-ft of capacity is inadequate for today' s emergency storage needs. <br />An expanded reservoir will improve Loveland's emergency storage, and will provide drought protection today <br />and for future generations. The City's water supplies include: <br /> <br />o 10,404 units of CBT Project water, which is water originating on the Western Slope of <br />Colorado in the Colorado River Basin and brought to the East Slope through Adams Tunnel <br />into the Big Thompson River Basin. <br /> <br />o 40 units of Windy Gap Project water, which is water originating on the Western Slope of <br />Colorado in the Fraser River, which is tributary to the Colorado River, and delivered through <br />CBT Project facilities. <br /> <br />o Up to 12.44 cubic feet of native direct flow water per second, depending on the season, <br />originating in the Big Thompson River and diverted directly into the City's water treatment <br />plant. The quantity available on a year around basis is 3.44 cubic feet per second. <br /> <br />o Water originating in the Big Thompson River pursuant to the City's ownership of shares in <br />several local irrigation companies. The yields of these sources vary considerably from year to <br />year, depending on climatic conditions such as rainfall, snowpack, and soil moisture. <br /> <br />Green Ridge Glade Reservoir is an important component of the City's water system. It serves almost <br />exclusively as an emergency, on-site raw water supply in the event there is any interruption in the City's <br />normal supplies from either the Big Thompson River or the CBT System, or from both simultaneously. <br />Reservoir construction began in 1977, the year after the devastating Big Thompson River Flood which severely <br />damaged the CBT system and left Loveland residents without an adequate water supply for several weeks. <br />Loveland's population in 1977 was about 25,000. The reservoir's 600 ac-ft capacity is very small in <br />comparison with the City's current service population of over 44,000. It is estimated that GRG Reservoir <br />provides less than six days of supply at 1996 peak use rates. This level of emergency storage presents an <br />unacceptable risk to Loveland citizens and water customers. An expanded reservoir will lower that risk. <br /> <br />An additional reason for reservoir expansion is to provide drought protection. The City legally owns, and <br />could annually divert, about 8,000 ac-ft of water on the average from shares in the ditch companies. It <br />currently can utilize only about 2,300 ac-ft of this water, because when most of it is available the City's <br />deffiands are lower than the available supply, and no storage exists for the additional flow. If that water were <br />stored, the City could use it as needed and much of its CBT water could be made available for agricultural uses <br />in this region. <br /> <br />The water supply study completed in 1988 (CWCB staffhas copies) recommended a combination of measures. <br />These include the purchase of additional CBT units, which was accomplished in 1990-91, additional water <br />conservation measures, and the expansion of GRG Reservoir. A summary of that study is attached. In 1989, <br />City officials implemented an 8-year program of increasing revenues to finance these drought study <br />recommendations, including reservoir expansion. City financing capabilities are currently in place to fund a <br />reservoir expansion from 600 ac-ft to 6,000 ac-ft. <br />