Laserfiche WebLink
Water Storage Rehabilitation <br /> The CWCB and the State Engineer have identified many dams that hold between 5,000- <br /> 10,000 AF of water that need to be repaired or improved to meet storage capacity <br /> expectations. Many of the owners of these projects may not be financially able to repair <br /> these facilities themselves using their own assets and would not qualify for a CWCB <br /> loan. <br /> However,many of these facilities, if repaired,could help the CWCB meet its mission <br /> objectives of developing,conserving and managing Colorado's water resources. <br /> Specifically,repairs may allow the owners to put their water rights to beneficial use in <br /> accordance with their decrees,make water available for beneficial uses and contribute to <br /> the preservation or improvement of the environment. <br /> We are in the process of undertaking a Restricted Dam and Recovery of Lost Storage <br /> Inventory and Analysis Project from which we will develop a list of possible projects that <br /> could be cooperatively undertaken by the CWCB and the project's owners. <br /> The CWCB would offer the owners of these valuable"small"projects non-reimbursable <br /> financing to pay for the entire amount of the costs of the repair and rehabilitation of their <br /> facilities if: <br /> 6 The owners of the project agree to donate one-half of the water made available by <br /> the improvement to the CWCB for future sale or lease for municipal,industrial or <br /> agricultural use or for of addressing compact calls,drought needs,instream flow, <br /> river restoration or other purposes deemed appropriate by the CWCB. The <br /> donation would be in accordance with a storage decree to be jointly sought by the <br /> owners and the CWCB. The donation would be implemented through an <br /> operations agreement enforced by the CWCB or the State Engineer.Dry-year <br /> provisions could also be written into these agreements. <br /> 7 The owners have completed a project feasibility study and the non-reimbursable <br /> financing on the individual project and the donation has been approved by the <br /> CWCB. The cost of the feasibility study may be included in the total non- <br /> reimbursable financing package. <br /> 8 Partial funding or loans could be considered if less water is made available for <br /> other purposes. <br /> 9 Other conditions the Board may require. <br /> Recommendation <br /> I recommend we consider the proposed statutory change,discuss the feasibility of these <br /> concepts, develop a process and be prepared to implement these proposals at this time <br /> next year. <br />