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REMOTE MONITORING PROJECT Scope of Work Report Pioneer Water & Irrigation Company December, 2008 REPORT OBJECTIVE In the Fall of 2007 the Pioneer Water & Irrigation Company (Pioneer) initiated a project to install remote monitoring equipment on irrigation wells to ultimately assist in the daily operation of its Plan of Augmentation. To date, the Remote Monitoring Project (i.e. Project) is approximately one-half complete. The objective of this Scope of Work Report is to seek the necessary grant funds from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and to complete the Project in its entirety. The Project is anticipated to be complete for Summer 2009 operations. BACKGROUND Pioneer Water & Irrigation Company was formed in the late `70s as an "augmentation" organization to develop new water supplies to offset the depletions from the out-of-priority operation of junior wells located in the vicinity of Snyder, Colorado (see Attachment A for all Pioneer contact information). The majority of the shareholders rely partially on surface supplies associated with the Tremont, Snyder, or A.A. Smith water rights. However, in mid-summer these surface supplies are typically junior to a"downstream" call on the South Platte, and as a consequence, the shareholders begin supplementing their irrigation demand with groundwater supplies. The ensuing out-of-priority depletions from the operations of irrigation wells are then offset by accretions that are derived from numerous recharge facilities operated by Pioneer. In total, Pioneer manages the augmentation supplies for 28 irrigation wells as illustrated on Attachments B and C. Like other augmentation entities, and at the encouragement of new reporting procedures defined by the State Engineer, Pioneer continues to improve its augmentation reporting. In doing so, however, Pioneer is challenged by two factors that make its accounting fairly unique and challenging, at best. First, Pioneer's recharge facilities, and the wells within its service area, are relatively close in proximity to the South Platte River. As a consequence, both the groundwater accretions (from recharge facilities) and groundwater depletion (from out-of-priority well pumping) accrue to the river in a fairly short timeframe (ranging from a few days to a few months). Given the realities of its location with respect to the river, Pioneer's historical reliance on monthly accounting has resulted in the significant "loss" of unused accretions. The inability to precisely manage its supplies on a timelier basis (i.e. daily) ultimately can result in curtailed pumping and significant yield loss. Secondly, the irrigation wells augmented by Pioneer are also defined by decree as "alternate points of diversion." As such, when the surface water rights are in priority, well owners may elect to divert their respective amounts of surface water via their "wellhead". Because the surface supplies used in the Snyder area are fairly junior in nature, they are often "called out" on a frequent basis in the summer months. At the present time, the administration of the alternate Pioneer Water & Imgation Company Page 1 Flow Monitoring Project