Prepared Statement to the Landowners Riverside Irrigation District

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The main Riverside Reservoir loses 10 per cent per month by see- page and evaporation. During short Water supply periods, this of course would be moveC to the WiN Cat reservoir as quickly as possible, leaving enough to service the lands above Wild Cat Reservoir. By hawing a lesser ;,pressure, the seepage then would go down at that point and fewer eabposed acres would permit the same nusiber of acres to be exposed in Wild Cat reservoir with the loss being identical. The ditch above Wild Cat Reservoir could be operated full enough to permit withdrawals at any time even though the headgate demand was small in total with the excess being restored in •Nile: cat Reservoir. The cost of the dam and reservoir is estimated to be for base construction $2,225,000.00, which will include.1,510,000 cubic yards embankment, 460000 square feet race paving 12 inches thick, lane ?, highway change, outlet gates, and core sealing. To the above must be added financing costs, engineering and legal work. To utilize full potential, the change in the intake ditch will cost another $100,000.00. The pumps will cost another $100,000.00. For construction in total, estimate $2,700,000.00. It is time now for the questions as to hot•, it can be financed. The farmer has got to be able to farm the additional cost that he can pay out or the farming. Every dollar he spends on crater be must gross $10.00. From a practical standpoint, it appears that the Riverside Irrigation District could pay a maximum of $50,000-00 per year out of increased benefits based on farming alone, amortized out over a period of 30 to 40 years, this means $750,000.00 of the cos:.. The AMU= of more acres to the systma, and conservatively speaking, a minimum of 4,000 acres could be added with a cash Payment of $125.00 per acre. This would amount to :500,000.00. The balance of $1,450,000.00 has got to come from other sources. There may be some flood control money available from the Corps Of Engineers. This might aidount to $100,000.00 or so. Where formerly lakes of this nature were curiosities and were paid infrequent visits, they now are being built solely for recreation purposes at greater costs that are involved herein. This reservoir does offer many of the things that are essential to a recreation lake. A guaranteed minimum depth and sur2ace area. The practical working depth will be fairly constant. it is readily accessible. The recreation facilities surrounding the lake can be built to the specific needs. So environmental problems are encountered and the treater quality, while hard, should be uniformily the same. The depth permits fish management. NO one has been contacted either public or private by the officials of the District. At this time it is open for prospective participants for-this use. It could be the wealthy man for prestige io say he owned the exclusive recreation rights, to a combine of a few to a thousand, to a land developer with the vie:• of building lake shore housing, or a public entity to serve all the people. These are details that are yet to be e2tplorec' . -6-