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Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Agenda Item 34b <br /> May 9,2014(Updated May 23,2014) <br /> Page 2 of 6 <br /> Background <br /> Northern Water, in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), operates and <br /> maintains the Colorado-Big Thompson(C-BT) Project facilities including 700 miles of <br /> transmission lines, 95 miles of canals, 35 miles of tunnels, seven hydropower plants, and 12 <br /> reservoirs including Granby Dam and Reservoir. On average, the C-BT Project collects and delivers <br /> more than 210,000 acre feet (AF) of water annually. Most of the water is collected in the upper <br /> Colorado River basin, west of the Continental Divide. Water is delivered to the East Slope via a 13- <br /> mile tunnel beneath Rocky Mountain National Park. Northern Water's service area includes <br /> 640,000 acres of irrigated farm land and 860,000 people located in portions of Boulder, Broomfield, <br /> Larimer, Weld, Morgan, Washington, Logan and Sedgwick counties. <br /> Northern Water is planning on adding an additional hydropower plant to the system by constructing <br /> a plant at the base of Granby Dam in Grand County. Lake Granby, located five miles northeast of <br /> the Town of Granby, is the largest storage reservoir in the C-BT Project. It was constructed <br /> between 1942 and 1949 and has a capacity of 539,758 AF. The Colorado River flows from Shadow <br /> Mountain Reservoir into Lake Granby and exits the lake at Granby Dam. <br /> The Granby Dam is a 225-foot earthfill dam. The outlet consists of a pressurized tunnel leading to <br /> a gate chamber that regulates discharges into a non-pressurized tunnel. The non-pressurized tunnel <br /> discharges to the Colorado River downstream of the dam. <br /> The C-BT Project has minimum streamflow obligations below Lake Granby ranging from 20 cubic <br /> feet per second (cfs) during the winter to 75 cfs during the summer. During times when Lake <br /> Granby is near maximum water surface levels, the valves can release up to 440 cfs. <br /> Northern Water proposes to install a hydropower station that will use the minimum streamflow <br /> obligations and a portion of additional releases to generate power through a 1.2-megawatt facility. <br /> Loan Feasibility Study <br /> Carl Brouwer, P.E., PMP, of Northern Water prepared the Loan Feasibility Study, titled"Granby <br /> Hydro Project Loan Feasibility Study," dated April 1, 2014. The Study was prepared in accordance <br /> with CWCB guidelines and includes preliminary engineering, an engineer's estimate of probable <br /> cost that were used in determination of the total Project cost, and two years of audited financial <br /> statements. Northern Water also submitted a supplemental report prepared by CH2MHi11, titled <br /> "Feasibility Design Report Granby Hydropower Project,"dated August 2011. <br /> Borrower-Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District <br /> Northern Water is a quasi-municipal entity and a political subdivision of the state of Colorado <br /> organized under the Water Conservancy Act, C.R.S. 37-45-101 et seq. Northern Water was created <br /> by decree of the Weld County District Court, dated September 20, 1937. <br /> In accordance with its Repayment Contract with Reclamation, Northern Water collects a 1.00 mill <br /> levy property tax on real property located within its boundaries. These taxes are assessed by the <br /> individual counties and submitted to Northern Water. In addition, Northern Water collects water <br /> assessments from water allotment contract holders. <br />