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• Board Meeting Date: 7/19/2009
• Description: CF Section - New Project Loans - Farmer's Reservoir and Irrigation Company - Milton Reservoir and Barr Lake Improvements Project
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company Agenda Item 10
July 14, 2009
Page 3 of 8
Water Rights
Milton Reservoir has a storage decree for 26,773 acre - feet with an appropriation date of May 29,
1909. Milton Reservoir is primarily filled from the Platte Valley Canal, wh ich has a direct flow
decree of 510 cfs with an appropriation date of June 9, 1909. Since 1995, Milton Reservoir has
filled or come close to filling every year.
Barr Lake has two storage decrees with appropriation dates of November 20, 1885 and
January 13 , 1909. The 1885 storage right is limited to 10,533 acre - feet and the 1909 storage right
is limited to 19,484, for a total of 30,017 acre - feet. The reservoir also has a refill right with an
appropriation date of January 13, 1909. Since 1995, the reservoir has filled in all years but 2004.
Project Description
The Company intends to complete three projects with this loan:
A. Milton Outlet Works – Remove and replace th e existing upstream outlet gate
structure and repair a portion of the piped outlet works t hrough the dam;
B. Milton Spillway – Enlarge the existing emergency spillway;
C. Barr Spillway – Enlarge the existing spillway and raise the perimeter dike.
A. Milton Reservoir Outlet Works
The outlet works at Milton Dam consist of two 48 - inch diameter conduits . Currently,
sluice gates at the downstream end of the dam control the flow through the conduits. Flap
gates are in place at the upstream end of the conduit for emergency operations, but are
not able to control flows as desired. The existing gates have re ached the end of their
useful life. As originally designed and installed, the upstream gates were intended to
regulate flows out of the reservoir; however, wear on the system has degraded the
operations so the gates can no longer be used as planned. In the ir current condition , these
gates can only be set as open or closed and cannot control flows. As a result, flows are
controlled using the downstream gates. Replacing the upstream gates will allow the
Company to operate the reservoir from the upstream end o f the gate, eliminate
pressurized flows in the outlet works , and provide the desired safety of fully operational
upstream and downstream gates. Remote operational capabilities will be added to the
new gates allowing the Company to open and close the gates from its office if required in
an emergency situation.
The Company evaluated the following alternatives to address the outlet works project:

Alternative No. 1 No Action:
– This alternative was considered unacceptable because
failure of the upstream gates or outlet conduits would result in an emergency draining of
the reservoir, causing monetary losses for the Company , and potentially leading to dam
safety issues.