C150154 Approval Letter

• Contract/PO #: C150154
• Contractor Name: Pine River - Bayfield Ditch Company
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 31
• County: La Plata
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Approval Letter

",

STATE Op.COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

. Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203 .
Phone:(303)866~1
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
GavemOl'

TO:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Bruce Johnson, P.E.~ ~
Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief
. Water Supply Planning a 6 Finan~ Section

Greg E. Walcher.
Executive Director

. FROM:

Rod I<uharlch
CWCB Director

DATE: May 7,2003

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 18c, May 1.9-20, 2003 Board Meeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance .section - New Loans
Pine Rlver-Bayfleld Ditch Company - Siphon Replacement Project

Dan Mc.\uliffe
Deputy Director

, Introduction

The Pine River-Baytield Ditch Company (PRBDC) .is applying for a $200,000 Sniall Project Loan from
the Construction Fund to replace their 2300 foot long Beaver Creek siphon. The estimated total cost of
the project is $267,000. Please see the attached project summary. and map. .

Backaround

The PRBDC provides irrigation water to a 2,596-acre service area, generally south of the Town of
Bayfieldin La Plata County. The Pine River Bayfie.ld Ditch is a lateral extending off of the Schroder
. Ditch which flows from the Pine River and Vallecito Reservojr. . PRBDC is. a carrier ditch for
shareholders owning Pine River water rights and Pine ~iver Irrigation District water shares. All
water carried is agricultural water with irrigated acreage in the service area primarily used for.
livestock pasture (cattle ranching) and hay production. The service area includes tribal lands of the
Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the largest shareholder on. the ditch. Typical shareholder acreages vary
in size, with some 10:-20 acre tracts, some 40-60 acre farms, and some 200 to 300 acre farms.
There are 51 shareholders; The PRBDC Iieadgate .is located east of the Town of Baytield, above
Beaver Creek. In addition to the 2300 foot siphon, the Company maintains approximately 10.5
miles of unlined ditch, with approximately 60-70 h~adgates.

From the headgate, the ditch flows through a concrete flume and into the Beaver Creel< siphon, a
32-inch diameter steel pipe siphon, 2300 feet in length. The siphon drops an estimated 100 feet in
elevation as it runs under Beaver Creek, and extends about 250 feet up th~ rocky hill on. the east
side. Pieces of the original wood and wire siphon, probably built around 1915, can still be seen
along the siphon route. The current siphon was built in 1955-1957,with a design life of 30 years.
It is now nearly 50 years old and in severely deteriorated condition. The steel has oxidized to the

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