19A

• Board Meeting Date: 9/18/2007
• Description: CF Section - Revisions to Existing Loans - New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company - New Reservoir Construction
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

The NCLPIC manages water in the Greeley NO.2 Ditch, delivering approximately
37,500 acre-feet per year. The ditch level fluctuates throughout the irrigation season making it
difficult and inefficient to serve all of the users, particularly those near the end of the system. In
order to overcome fluctuations in the ditch, NCLPIC must mn extra water to ensure that users at
the end of the system are not shorted. In addition, the NCLPIC estimates that it is approximately
10,000 ac-ft short of its current annual water requests, due to operational losses as well as the
transfer of Colorado Big Thompson water out of the system. The intent of this proj ect was to
construct three reservoirs near Barnesville to equalize ditch flows, improve system efficiency
(approx. 2,000 AF/year), and provide additional storage (approx. 2,500 AF/year) to meet
demand. The proposed reservoirs will also provide a benefit to the comprehensive groundwater
augmentation plan that the company is developing.

FEASIBILITY STUDIES

Smith Geotechnical Engineering Consultants of Fort Collins completed the feasibility
study in accordance with CWCB guidelines. The study included an assessment of alternatives to
address storage and operational deficiencies.

Table 1 below is a brief summary of the maj or proj ect elements selected and their
estimated cost, as presented in the original feasibility study:

Table 1. Opinion of Cost

Item

Estimated Cost

1. Dru Reservoir
2. Cornish Plains Reservoir
3. Barnesville E ualizer Reservoir
4. Jack Wells Pum in Station & Pi eline
5. Pro e Ac uisition
Total:

$2,217,000
$2,350,000
$922,000
$1,632,000
$2,421,000
$9,542,000

DISCUSSION

The NCLPIC has completed all the items identified above, with the exception of Dmry
Reservoir. The NCLPIC does not plan on pursuing the design and construction of Dmry
Reservoir at this time. The original storage volume of Cornish Reservoir was estimated at 1,600
acre-feet, but was increased to 3,000 acre-feet during constmction. The increased storage
volume achieved in Cornish Reservoir eliminated the immediate need to construct the 600 acre-
foot Dmry Reservoir.

The land necessary to construct both Drury and Cornish Reservoir was purchased in 2003
under a separate loan contract between NCLPIC and Cornish Plains Livestock, LLP for
$1,409,649, with a 20-year amortization, an annual payment of $122,843, and a 10-year balloon
payment of approximately $1,030,000. The purchase price of the land and accrued interest was
included in the overall cost of the project, as indicated above in Table 1. When the project was
presented to the Board in November of 2003, staff recommended a maximum loan amount of
$7,200,000, which was 75% of the total project cost of $9,542,000. The purchase of the land
was included the 25% cost participation from NCLPIC.

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