Gunnison - Orchard City Water Reservoir Project (Remaining Tasks)_Application

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Town of Orchard City Reservoir Project Summary January 2007 BACKGROUND The drought of recent years, reaching a drastic levels in 2002, forced an ongoing examination by the Town of Orchard City of its water rights, (both in quantity and type) storage, collection and delivery system to its treatment plant. This has brought to light several serious deficiencies and dangerous weaknesses in the system. The number one problem is that virtually all of the rights are flow rights and the vast majority are still classified as agricultural irrigation water. As such they are only available from mid-April to the end of October during the irrigati~n system. The bulk of these rights are located in the Surface Creek drainage of the south slope of the Grand Mesa, while the Orchard City treatment plant is located to the west in the Ward Creek drainage. In order to utilize these involves a complicated "paper" trade and exchange process that leaves the Town at the mercy of those water owners who hold rights that can be gotten to the treatment plant. This dramatically' reduces the amount and'value of the ToWQ.'s "back up" supplies. The Town's primary source of water is 'decrees on the Lake Fork flow, which have been classified as municipal, but are not the majority of that decree and are junior to many of the larger holders of that irrigation decree. This flow decree is available year around through a collection pipeline network that taps directly into springs. However, there are no storage rights, or any place to store this water if rights are sought when there is excess available during the winter months. The Town's other major source of water, already classified municipal, is one share of Alfalfa Ditch which is the number one decree on Grand Mesa. Because of recent filings to make permanent the above mentioned exchanges this will now be available year around via the Big Ditch. With this and the Lake Fork degree, during average or above water years this would provide approximately 4.5 cubic feet per second of water at the treatment plant. The present plant has a capacity of 3 second feet, but p"lans are already' being made to double capacity for the growth the Town is experiencing. However, since this is all flow water, in below average or in drought years, this can dwindle rapidly. In 2002 the total of this flow dropped to a combined one-half cubic foot. Because the Town's other waters are mainly irrigation flows they also declined accordingly and the Town was further handicapped in making trades "for additional water. With this planned project the Town will file for an additional use on the Alfalfa decree to include storage of the municipal water. In average years the Lake Fork decree fills or nearly fills the plant capacity with flow so the bulk of this Alfalfa degree could be stored in the new reservoir approximately ~ mile from the treatment plant Maximum yield of this decree would provide 730 acre' feet. PROPOSED RESERVOIR The Town is presently engaged in obtaining a 40 acre site that has been identified by Smith-Williams Consultants, Inc. as one on which up to a 1,000 acre foot reservoir could be constructed off stream. They are also negotiating to obtain another 40 acres tract that lies between this reservoir location and the treatment plant in order to resolve any access issues, ensure an adequate supply of construction materials without lengthy hauls and consolidate the facilities.