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East Mancos Highiine Ditch Company <br />Pipeline Project <br />Introduction <br />The East Mancos Highline Ditch Company (Company) manages the East Mancos Highline Ditch <br />(the Ditch) for the benefit of the Members as an association of owners of water rights and lands <br />served by the Ditch. Irrigation water is diverted from the East Fork of the Mancos River, approx. <br />3.3 miles northeast of the Town of Mancos in Montezuma County Colorado, and camed in the <br />Ditch to the 700-acre Member service area. The Ditch is approximately 30,385 feet in length, <br />serves 6 Members and carries a maximum flow of approximately 8.58 cubic feet per second. The <br />Company proposes to upgrade the Ditch by installing a pipeline in the Ditch easement for a <br />distance of approximately 30,385 feet. <br />Project Sponsor <br />The Company is a non-profit corporation registered in the State of Colorado. There are six <br />Members in the Company. The Company has the power to assess the Members for operations, <br />maintenance and administrative costs. The Members have entered into a Funding Agreement <br />with the Company for repayment of the loan that will be used to finance Project costs. All of the <br />Members' irrigation water will be carried in the pipeline and the loan repayment will be shared <br />by the Members equally. The Total of the Member's adjudicated water flow rate is 8.58 cfs. The <br />Company Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and Funding Agreement are included in Appendix <br />A. <br />Project Service Area and Facilities <br />Irrigated acreage within the service area is primarily used for cattle ranching and to grow hay. <br />Hay crop is used as cattle feed, or is sold. A map of the Ditch and photos of the existing <br />diversion and a map of the service area are in the back pocket of this report. <br />Hydrology and Water Rights <br />The source of water for the Ditch is direct flow water rights out of the East Fork of the Mancos <br />River. The water diverted at the head gate consists of 32 adjudicated rights with dates of <br />appropriation ranging from 1878 to 1890 and totaling 8.58 cfs plus 250 AF rights to storage <br />water in the Jackson Gulch Reservoir that are used mostly to supplement the adjudicated rights <br />late in the irrigation season. Records of the State Engineer's Office indicate that total average <br />annual diversions are 619 acre-feet, for years 1974 through 2003, and that the maximum <br />diversion was 1228 A-F in 1997. The maximum diversion rate was 12.3 cfs for the year 1991. A <br />summary of water rights and the State Engineer Diversion records for 1974-2003 are found in <br />Appendix B. <br />5 <br />