C150268 Feasibility Study

• Contract/PO #: C150268
• Contractor Name: Louden Irrigating Canal and Reservoir Company
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 4
• County: Larimer
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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f) Rist-Benson Reservoir, 117.6 acre-ft, December 31, 1930, Big Thompson River
Storage Priority No. 52;

g) The LICRC owns 16 rights in Lake Loveland with each right equal to 40 acre-ft for a
total of 640 acre-ft.

The total appropriation for Rist-Benson Reservoir is for 491.4 acre-feet to a depth of 13.6 feet. The
storage decree is included in Appendix C.

The diversion records for the Louden Ditch from 1976 through 2006 are located in Appendix D. On
average the Louden Ditch runs about 8,000 acre-ft of water each year.

PROJECT SERVICE AREA

The service area of Louden Irrigating Canal and Reservoir Company, Inc. is shown on Figure 2. The
_ u se. fV'i~e ar_~llt:lnc<>.mp~~~~ apP!.2~jma~!Y1QJ}OO_~fr~s ()fland9j~l1i~h~PI"Q~jmately4.00Q~cres is_
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irrigated by the Louden Irrigating Canal and Reservoir Company. Crops grown in the service area
includes com, dry beans, orchard without cover, small grains, alfalfa and grass hay. An approximate
division of crops and planted acreage is as follows. This information was determined based on
Larimer County averages taken from the Colorado Agricultural Statistics of 2007.

TABLE 1
CROP SUMMARY
Corn 312 180 bu $ 6.15 $ 345,384
Dry Beans 67 20.5 bu $ 18.70 $ 25,684
Wheat 551 63.5 bu $ 7.82 $ 273,610
Alfalfa Hay 730 5.6 tons $ 101.00 $ 412,888
Orchard 15 10,000 Ibs $ 0.36 $ 54,000
Pasture 2325 1 ac $ 90 $ 209,250
TOTAL 4,000 $1,320,816

Statistics from Colorado Aflricultural Statistics. 2007, Colorado Department of Agriculture and Futures Trading on the
Chicago Board of Trade, May 2008.

Based on the average crop yields per acre in the service area, the value of the crops grown on land
irrigated by LICRC is in excess of$I,300,000.

The Louden Ditch, which delivers water to Rist Beson reservoir, is over 15 miles in length. As such,
there are many soils and soil types found along the system. The GENERALIZED SOIL MAP from
Soil Survey of Larimer County. Colorado, United States Department of Agriculture, indicates the
soils in the services area are of three major units; the Nunn-Fort Collins Ulm and the Otero-Nelson-
Tassel.
Rist-Benson Feasibility Study Page 4