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<br />... CHAPTER'1. BACKGROUND
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<br />. Fire Mountain Canal and .Reservoir Company (FMCC)
<br />. Leroux Creek Water Users Association (LCWUA)
<br />. Leroux Ditch and Enlargement Company (LDEC)
<br />. Ragged Mountain Water Users Association (RMWUA)
<br />
<br />FMCC, a non-profit corporation, was incorporated on October. 1 0, 1933 to provide irrigation water to lands
<br />north of the North Fork of the Gunnison River (North Fork). FMCC constructed, maintains, and operates
<br />the Fire Mountain Canal. FMCC was also formed to purchase, construct, or otherwise acquire storage
<br />reservoirs that provide supplemental water distributed through the Fire Mountain Canal. FMCC, on
<br />behalf of the NFWCD, also operates Paonia Dam and Reservoir as defined in an operating agreement.
<br />
<br />LCWUA, a non-profit corporation, was incorporated on February 11, 1948 to acquire, provide, and
<br />distribute irrigation water to lands above Fire Mountain Canal including Rogers Mesa, Leroux Canyon,
<br />and Redlands Mesa. As part of the Paonia Project, LCWUA contracted with the NFWCD and U.S.
<br />Bureau of Reclamation (USBOR) to use 4,550 acre-feet of Paonia Project water delivered by the Fire
<br />Mountain Canal. This water exchange allowed Leroux Creek water users below the Fire Mountain Canal
<br />to become stockholders in FMCC. Water previously delivered by the LCWUA below Fire Mountain Canal
<br />is now used by landowners above Fire Mountain Canal and administered by LCWUA.
<br />
<br />LDEC was incorporated primarily to operate and maintain the Leroux Ditch. LDEC contracted with the
<br />USBOR for the reconstruction, enlargement, extension, and operation and maintenance of Leroux Ditch
<br />in 1952 (contract number 14-06-400-06).
<br />
<br />RMWUA, a non-profit corporation, was formed to provide irrigation water to lands upstream of Paonia
<br />Reservoir. To receive supplemental irrigation water, RMWUA contracted with the NFWCD and USBOR.
<br />The contract allows RMWUA to use 2,000 acre-feet of Paonia Project water from storage in Paonia
<br />Reservoir. Water allocated to RMWUA was made available from the sediment pool capacity of Paonia
<br />Reservoir reserved to the United States.
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<br />Contract Obligations
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<br />Appendix A includes an index of NFWCD contracts, summary of Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
<br />provisions, and copies of actual contracts developed with the NFWCD. The primary contracts include the
<br />following:
<br />
<br />1, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Paonia Project repayment and O&M contract, number 11 r-1536,
<br />dated 6/11/48 and amended by contract number 14-06-400-668, dated 8/21/57, 11/14/64,
<br />10/23/68, and 12/13/84
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<br />2. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reconstruction, enlargement, and extension of Fire Mountain
<br />Canal contract, number 11r-1537, dated 8/9/48
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<br />3. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reconstruction, relocation, and enlargement of Leroux Ditch
<br />contract, number 14-6-400-6, dated 9/22/52
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<br />4. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation supplemental operation and water distribution contract, number
<br />14-06-400-4650, dated 5/12/67
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<br />5. U. S. Bureau of Reclamation supplemental water sales contract to Ragged Mountain Water
<br />Users Association, number 96-07-40-R2050, dated 7/18/96
<br />
<br />6. NFWCD Paonia Dam and Reservoir operations agreement with Fire Mountain Canal and
<br />Reservoir Company, dated 9/7/99
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