C150363 Feasibilty Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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New Cache La Poudre Irrigating Company /Cache La Poudre Reservoir Company NCLPIC currently provides irrigation water to approximately 35,000 acres in Larimer and Weld Counties. The service area is located immediately north of the Cache La Poudre and South Platte Rivers between Windsor and Barnesville. Water is diverted from the Cache La Poudre River near Timnath to feed the Greeley No. 2 Ditch. The canal systems consist of approximately 50 miles of ditch extending from the river to approximately 11 miles east of U.S. 85. NCLPIC delivery is approximately 37,500 acre - feet per year. NCLPIC is a direct flow, demand -based system. The historical average headgate delivery over the last 50 -75 years has been 12 acre -feet per share. This yield can vary by farm in any given year from 0 to 30 acre -feet per share, depending on the particular farm's irrigation need. Each share is allowed to run 1/4 cfs for every day the river is in priority. For example, in 2013 NCLPIC ran 35 days, therefore, 8 shares could have run 2 cfs, equating to 35 days x 4 acre - feet/day = 140 acre -feet (17.5 acre - feet/share). For the purposes of this study however, the historical headgate delivery of 12 acre - feet/share is used. The historic annual headgate delivery for CLPRC is 1.9 acre - feet/share, and this has been very consistent over the last 100 years. Petrocco Farms Loan Water Summary The table shown in Appendix E, and the water rights investigation report from TZA Water Engineers, Inc., of Lakewood, Colorado, summarizes the water rights associated with the Project Farms. The table includes the sources of water, application sites, irrigation demand, new and existing water yields and the resulting water shortfall. The new water from both the Fulton Ditch and the New Cache La Poudre sources are expected to add approximately 260 acre feet to the Petrocco Farms water portfolio. The total irrigation water demand for the 5 Project Farms is over 1,200 acre - feet /year. The yield of existing irrigation water on the Project Farms is approximately 591 acre -feet. Given the purchase of the new water shares, it is clear that Petrocco Farms will still need to rent an additional 357 acre -feet of water in order to meet their Project Farms irrigation needs. However, the additional 260 acre -feet will provide a better guarantee of an annual water supply for their agriculture operation. Water Rights _ Opinion of Value The water rights investigation report by TZA Engineers, Inc. (see Appendix E) details the description of the water rights to be purchased by Petrocco Farms and their associated facilities. The investigation also included any restrictions on receiving delivery of those water rights for agriculture under the respective ditches.