07

• Board Meeting Date: 7/11/2007
• Description: IWMD Section - Water Supply Reserve Account July 2007 Grant Allocations
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

list for 85 new memberships which are unserved pending an increase in raw water available to the Company.
Under a new contract with the District and the BoR, the Water Company is encouraging existing users of
Jackson Gulch water to abandon quantities of irrigation water so that the water can be reallocated to the Water
Company as M & I water. This is a choice that residents of the Valley are facing in order to increase the
supplies of domestic water. Additional water storage capacity will enable adequate domestic water supplies to
be maintained without reducing water available for agriculture.

This project concept is endorsed by the following organizations which represent inigation water and M& I water
users in the Valley and many landowners along the river: The Mancos Valley Beaver Ditch Company, the
Henry Bolen Ditch Company, The Number Six Ditch Company, the Sheek Ditch Company, the Weber Ditch
Company, the Root and Ratliff Ditch Company, the Carpenter / Mitchell ditch company, the Town of Mancos,
]\;(esa Verde National Park, and others.

The District will actively pursue contributions and matching funds for the Project after feasibility studies are
available to provide specific defmition of the facilities, costs and schedules.

Discussion:

The applicant has done an excellent job summarizing the needs of the District and the benefits this grant will
provide including a description of the numerous beneficiaries of this multi-objective project. The applicant
describes in detail how this project meets the evaluation criteria as well as meeting Colorado's future water
needs as identified in the Statewide Water Supply Initiative. The project sets out to maximize the use of the
waters in the Mancos basin including meeting the needs of municipal, agriculture, environments and
recreational interests. As described, this project seems to be the type envisioned by the legislatures when
enacting SB179.

Considering the fact that Jackson Gulch Reservoir is a Bureau of Reclamation Project (see fact sheet
included in the application) and that the BOR will be contracted to do the work, it is unfortunate that the BoR
is not providing any matching funds for this project. Staff is aware of the BoR's "Water 2025 Challenge
Grant program," which provides matching funding for projects designed to stretch water resources through
conservation, efficiency and water marketing. The applicant should provide information regarding their
thoughts on pursuing a 2025 grant and why this has not been done. In addition, the applicant is encouraged
to work with the BOR to seek additional funding sources for future phases of this project.

Issues/Additional Needs:

Please provide a detailed budget--the project budget does not include level of effort and rates (hours,
unit costs, etc) for discrete tasks.
The scope of work should provide more detail on the purpose of each task, the method or procedure
used to accomplish the task and the deliverables or product produced.
Please provide a detailed project schedule.
The applicant has not identified any TABOR issues, if any.
The applicant has not identified how they intend to finance construction of the final project.
Please describe why the applicant sought exclusive funding through SB179 funds.

Staff Recommendation:

The proposed project meets the Threshold Criteria. Staff recommends funding the Jackson Gulch Reservoir
Feasibility Study contingent on resolution of the items in the issues/additional needs section. It should be
noted that past costs can not be reimbursed.

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