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STATE OF COLORADO <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3441 <br />Fax: (303) 866-4474 <br />www.cwcb.state.co.us <br />TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members <br />✓,• <br />FROM: Anna Mauss, P.E.1.����� , <br />Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief � <br />Water. Supply Planning and inance ;Section <br />DATE: January 14, 2008 (UPDATED January 30, 2008) <br />Bill Ritter, Jr. <br />Governor <br />Harrts D. Sherman <br />DNR Execurive Director <br />Jennifer L. Gimbel <br />CWCB Director <br />Dan McAuliffe <br />CWCB Deputy Director <br />SUBJECT: Agenda Item lle, January 22-23, 2008 Board Meeting <br />Water Supply Planning and Finan�e Section — New Project Loans <br />Bijou. Irrigation District — Empire Res. East Embankment Dam Repair <br />- - � Introduction <br />� <br />The Bijou Irrigation District (District) is applying for a$2,385,000 loan from the CWCB to <br />rehabilitate the Empire Reservoir along the east embankment of the dam where significant wave <br />erosion caused damage. Because of this damage, the dam was put on a fill restriction to a gauge <br />height (G� of 29.0 feet. The estimated total cost of t'.he project is $2,650,000. See the attached <br />Project Data Sheet far a location map and project surrunary. <br />Background <br />The District owns arid operates Empire Reservoir lacated west of Fort Morgan in Weld and <br />Morgan Counties, between I-76 on the south and US Highway 34 on the north. The District <br />provides irrigation water to a 19,200-acre service area in Morgan County, located between the <br />reservoir and the City of Fort Morgan. The District is a taxing district that levies a tax per acre <br />based on benefits received, not an ad valorem property tax. The irrigation water is primarily <br />used to grow corn (approx. 70%) and hay (approx 20%). Water stored in the reservoir is <br />delivered to users through a sister company, Bijou Irrigation Company (Company), which <br />operates and maintains the distribution system, used for either direct irrigation or exchanges. <br />The Company has direct flow rights at the Bijou Canal diversion on the South Platte, and <br />maintains about 90 iniles of ditch, Bijou No. 2 Rese:rvoir, and some augmentation ponds. <br />Empire Reservoir is used to supplement the direct flows, typically in April through September. <br />Annual delivery froin the reservoir is about 19,900 acre-feet. The proposed loan for Empire <br />Reservoir is to the T�istrict and does not involve the Company. <br />Water Supply Protection • Watershed Protection & Flood Mitigation • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance <br />Watr,r Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development <br />