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Cucharas Feasibility Study| Introduction 2 Company. Table 1 represents the elevation‐area‐capacity of the reservoir based on the referenced survey. The reservoir supplies irrigation water to cultivated lands in southeast Pueblo County, north of the Huerfano River. The reservoir storage basin has accumulated a large quantity of silt with the current level against the upstream face of the dam at gauge height 80. There are two functioning 36‐inch diameter outlet slide gates on the face of the outlet works having their inverts approximately eight feet below the existing silt level. A silt catchment fence and depressed rock basin around the outlet structure allows water to flow to the valves with minimal silt flow through the valves. The spillway is a 300‐foot long concrete ogee crest with an estimated capacity of 42,000 cfs with no residual freeboard. The spillway discharge channel is a rock cut rectangular channel which is approximately 100 feet wide with a depth of 19 feet and drops vertically from the canyon rim to floor, approximately 80 feet below. The dam and reservoir are located in Sections 25, 26, 35, 36, Township 26 South, Range 65 West: Sections 30 and 31, Township 26 South, Range 64 West: Sections 6 and 7 Township 27 South, Range 64 West; Sections 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15, Township 27 South, Range 64 West, 6th P.M., in northeast Huerfano County. B) PROJECT GOALS The technical goals of rehabilitating and developing storage are based on the goals of the 2 Rivers Water Company, LLC (Two Rivers) which are articulated in greater detail in other parts of the application. C) PROJECT ALTERNATIVES The development of project alternatives is based on the ultimate goal of providing an operating reservoir that has a 40,000 acre‐foot capacity. The consideration of alternates included the following: 1. No Action The SEO has placed a suspense date of October 1, 2010 to either rehabilitate the existing dam, build a new one, or a “Zero” no storage restriction will be imposed followed by an order to breach the dam and remove the hazard it represents. The no action alternative has a significant cost associated with the breaching of the dam and effectively shows intent to abandon a viable and valuable storage right. This is an unacceptable alternative because of the high cost and no benefit associated with this action. 2. Sediment Removal URS, in their 2006 feasibility report, estimated that there is over 8 million cubic yards of deposited sediment in the reservoir basin. The determination was made that the costs, environmental concerns and required permitting made this alternative unfeasible. No further evaluation of this alternative was considered.