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Cottonwood Water&Sanitation District Agenda Item 30a May 9,2014(Updated May 23,2014) Page 2 of 7 (INFORMATION IN SMALL CAPS IS COMMON TO ALL WISE LOANS) WISE Project Overview THE WISE PROJECT IS THE RESULT OF REGIONAL COOPERATIVE PLANNING EFFORTS BETWEEN DENVER WATER,AURORA WATER,AND 10 REGIONAL WATER PROVIDERS IN THE SOUTH METROPOLITAN AREA. WATER PROVIDERS IN THE SOUTH METROPOLITAN DENVER AREA RELY PRIMARILY ON BEDROCK GROUNDWATER TO SUPPLY MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WATER NEEDS.ALTHOUGH THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF GROUNDWATER IN BEDROCK AQUIFERS UNDERLYING THE DENVER AREA, THESE SUPPLIES DO NOT HAVE A NATURAL SOURCE OF REPLENISHMENT AND ARE THUS CONSIDERED TO BE NON-RENEWABLE. GROUNDWATER AND WELL PRODUCTION DATA INDICATE THAT GROUNDWATER LEVELS ARE DECLINING IN MANY AREAS AS A RESULT OF GROUNDWATER PUMPING. AREA WATER PROVIDERS RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE WATER SUPPLY SOURCES. THE SOUTH METRO WISE AUTHORITY(WISE AUTHORITY) IS COMPRISED OF TEN GOVERNMENTAL WATER PROVIDERS IN DOUGLAS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES BOUND TOGETHER BY A 2013 INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT. STAFF IS RECOMMENDING FOUR WISE AUTHORITY MEMBERS FOR LOAN FUNDING THROUGH CWCB. THE WISE PROJECT WILL UTILIZE EXCESS CAPACITY IN AURORA'S PRAIRIE WATERS PROJECT AND AS- AVAILABLE REUSABLE RETURN FLOWS FROM DENVER WATER AND AURORA WATER TO CREATE A NEW SURFACE WATER SUPPLY FOR WISE AUTHORITY MEMBERS.REUSABLE RETURN FLOWS WILL BE DELIVERED FROM THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER THROUGH AURORA'S PRAIRIE WATERS SYSTEM TO ITS BINNEY WATER PURIFICATION FACILITY. TREATED WATER WILL THEN BE DELIVERED TO A MASTER METER FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION TO WISE AUTHORITY MEMBERS. WATER DELIVERIES RESULTING FROM THE WISE PROJECT WILL BE VARIABLE AND,AT TIMES, INTERMITTENT. WATER DELIVERIES THROUGH THE WISE PROJECT CAN BE DIRECTLY USED IN PARTICIPANTS' DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS WHEN DEMANDS COINCIDE WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF SUPPLIES. TO THE DEGREE THAT DELIVERIES EXCEED DEMAND(IN ANY GIVEN MONTH OR DAY), EXCESS WATER CAN BE PUT INTO STORAGE FOR LATER WITHDRAWAL. STORAGE SITES THAT MAY BE UTILIZED INCLUDE RUETER—HESS RESERVOIR AND AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY(ASR). WATER WILL BE DELIVERED TO PARTICIPANTS BASED ON THE AMOUNTS DEFINED IN THE WATER DELIVERY AGREEMENT BETWEEN AURORA WATER,DENVER WATER AND THE WISE AUTHORITY.THIS DEFINED VOLUME IS REFERRED TO AS THE SUBSCRIPTION LEVEL,AND IS BASED ON AVERAGE ANNUAL WATER DELIVERIES OVER A 10-YEAR BLOCK OF TIME IN ACRE-FEET PER YEAR. THE FOLLOWING TABLE 1: WISE PARTICIPANTS&DELIVERIES LISTS THE AMOUNT OF WATER TO WHICH EACH WISE AUTHORITY MEMBER HAS COMMITTED IN THE WATER DELIVERY AGREEMENT.