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CWCB Water Project Loan Application <br />4. Please provide a brief description of the owner's existing water supply facilities and describe <br />any existing operational or maintenance problems. Attach a map of the service area <br />Santa Maria Reservoir Company (SMRC) is an eligible applicant under Senate Bill 06- <br />179. SMRC was incorporated in 1931 to "safeguard, protect, and manage the rights of all water <br />users and consumers of water" for the Santa Maria Reservoir Company, which includes both <br />Continental Reservoir and Santa Maria Reservoir. Continental Reservoir is located in Hinsdale <br />County, Colorado. Santa Maria Reservoir is located in Mineral County, Colorado. The reservoirs <br />are used by SMRC to store water for use in connection with the Rio Grande Canal and the Monte <br />Vista Canal. The water from the reservoirs is used to supply irrigation water to four counties <br />within the state of Colorado. Those counties include Rio Grande, Saguache, Conejos, and <br />Alamosa counties. The water districts that SMRC supplies are 20, 21, 22, 26, and 27 in Irrigation <br />Division No. 3 of the state of Colorado. Santa Maria Reservoir Company owns both Continental <br />Reservoir and Santa Maria Reservoir. Continental Reservoir and Santa Maria Reservoir operate <br />separately and in conjunction with one another. Both reservoirs were constructed for storage and <br />distribution capabilities. <br />In 2007, SMRC began the Santa Maria Reservoir Company Rehabilitation Initiative to begin <br />upgrading the reservoir system. SMRC obtained Water Supply Reserve Account (WSRA) <br />funding to conduct a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the two reservoirs and the delivery <br />system which carries water into Santa Maria. SMRC contracted the URS Corporation to conduct <br />engineering studies of the reservoirs and the conveyance system. The studies conducted <br />identified the Continental dam and spillway deficiencies, and Santa Maria conveyance system <br />repair necessities and hydraulic improvement requirements. The studies also addressed <br />solutions to the findings. <br />Through their analysis of the reservoir system, URS assessed the potential dam safety issues <br />at Continental. Their focus was on the seepage that is occurring along the left abutment of the <br />dam. Due to dam seepage and spillway conditions deteriorating at Continental Reservoir, the <br />State has imposed a storage limitation at the reservoir for the past twenty years. Currently, <br />Continental Reservoir has been limited to storing only 15,000 acre feet. However, the reservoir <br />has a designed capacity of 26,716 acre feet, which means that the reservoir has been operating at <br />a storage deficiency of nearly 12,000 acre feet for the past 20 years. SMRC is hoping to lift the <br />storage restriction through the completion of this project. However, the storage restriction cannot <br />be lifted without also addressing the spillway. Through the studies, URS was able to determine <br />the hydrologic/hydraulic adequacy of the Continental spillway. URS determined that the <br />spillway size was adequate. However, the studies concluded that the condition of the spillway <br />was inadequate and thus the spillway needed to be replaced. <br />This application pertains to Phase II of the Santa Maria Reservoir Rehabilitation Initiative <br />with the requested loan funds dedicated to updating the reservoir system by addressing the dam <br />seepage and spillway conditions at Continental Reservoir. SMRC is seeking funds to address <br />these issues at Continental so that they can lift storage restrictions and restore Continental <br />Reservoir to its full storage capacity. <br />2 <br />