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<br />CHAPTER 5 - PROPOSED FACILITIES <br /> <br />Identification of Future Needs <br /> <br />Particioation in Reaional Proiects <br /> <br />ELCO and other water providers in the Fort Collins area have historically planned <br />and constructed projects cooperatively. The schedule for those projects is driven <br />by the collective needs of all participants rather than the needs of anyone entity. <br />The advantages of combining resources and constructing single projects at one <br />time rather than several projects over an extended period of time far outweigh <br />the cost of funding improvements sooner than they would otherwise be required. <br /> <br />Because ELCO has historically grown at a slower pace than other water <br />suppliers in the area, it usually funds projects several years before they might be <br />required to meet the needs of the District. Funding improvements sooner than <br />required is sometimes challenging for the District, but the ELCO Board <br />recognizes the many benefits including lower unit costs through economies of <br />scale, limiting disruption and environmental impacts within the community, <br />improving redundancy and efficiencies, integrating operations with other <br />suppliers, and fostering cooperation among participants. <br /> <br />All the facility needs discussed in this section are being planned in conjunction <br />with one or more water supplier. In most cases, ELCO could wait to construct <br />planned improvements if the construction schedule was based only on its needs. <br />For ELCO, however, the cost advantage alone justifies participating in proposed <br />projects sooner than necessary rather than waiting to construct its own <br />improvements on its own schedule. <br /> <br />Water Riahts <br /> <br />Since committing to the Poudre River for its future water supply, ELCO has <br />obtained native water rights that will supply a firm yield of approximately 1 ,500 <br />acre feet per year once those water rights are converted for municipal use. That <br />represents approximately 24010 of the average firm annual yield of water rights <br />currently owned by ELCO. <br /> <br />ELCO purchased very little of the native water supplies it currently owns. The <br />majority of ELCO's native supplies were turned into the ELCO Water Bank by <br />developers and speculators. ELCO created a Water Bank similar to the one <br />operated by the City of Loveland to facilitate water transfers between sellers and <br />buyers. Depositors of water rights into the ELCO Water Bank receive credit that <br />can be used to satisfy ELCO's raw water dedication requirements. That credit <br />can be used by the depositor or sold to another developer or individual that may <br />not own water rights. <br /> <br />Clear Water Solutions, Inc. <br />East Larimer County Water District <br /> <br />2007 Water Conservation Plan <br /> <br />39 <br />