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Las Animas Consolidated Canal Company Agenda Item 27d. <br /> November 19-20,2014 Board Meeting(Updated November 21, 2014) <br /> Page 2 of 6 <br /> Background <br /> The Company, located in Bent County, Colorado, provides irrigation water to approximately 5,600 <br /> acres of land in the vicinity of Las Animas, Colorado. The Company, along with the Consolidated <br /> Extension Canal Company, owns and operates the Las Animas ditch diversion dam, located <br /> approximately one mile west of the spillway structure. The diversion dam, itself a previous CWCB <br /> financed project, is located on the Arkansas River approximately 11 miles east of La Junta and about <br /> seven miles west of Las Animas. Water is conveyed through the head gates of the Las Animas <br /> Consolidated Canal Company canal in an easterly direction to a siphon under the Purgatoire River, <br /> ultimately tailing into John Martin Reservoir. <br /> A significant, localized thunderstorm occurred during the night in April 2014, which created heavy <br /> runoff that flowed into the canal downstream of the Company's main canal headgate, through several <br /> uncontrolled and ungaged tributaries. These flows exceeded the capacity of the existing spillway <br /> structure at the river return, causing the structure to be overtopped and undermined, and resulted in <br /> its catastrophic failure. While temporary measures have been put in place to keep the ditch in <br /> operation, a long term solution is being sought. The Company is seeking to replace the spillway <br /> structure with an improved and modernized structure similar to the original design, but with additional <br /> control and safety measures to allow automated canal operations, including automated responses to <br /> similar flooding conditions in the future. Modernization of this structure will improve routine canal <br /> operations and safety, in addition to mitigating future canal failure risk. <br /> Loan Feasibility Study <br /> Richard L. Belt, P.E., Senior Water Resources Analyst at Xcel Energy, prepared the Feasibility Study, <br /> titled "Repair and Replacement of the Las Animas Consolidated Canal Spillway Structure" and dated <br /> September 2014, for this project. The study was prepared in accordance with CWCB guidelines and <br /> includes preliminary engineering, alternate analysis, and an engineers' estimate of probable costs used <br /> in determination of total project costs. <br /> Las Animas Consolidated Canal Company <br /> The Company is a non-profit mutual ditch company incorporated in 1941, and is currently in good <br /> standing with the Secretary of State. The ditch has been in existence since the 1870s, when the most <br /> senior water rights were appropriated. The Company is managed by a five-member board of directors. <br /> The board has the power to enter into contracts, to cut off water deliveries to shareholders who fail to <br /> pay their assessments, to make assessments, and to offer stock for sale to pay back assessments. <br /> There are 10 shareholders and 562 shares of stock. Xcel Energy owns 430 shares (76.57%)of the <br /> Company and leases all of its water to local irrigators for agricultural use. 132 shares (23.43%) are <br /> owned by agricultural users. Xcel Energy has committed to pay for its portion of the Project costs from <br /> its capital reserves at substantial completion of the project. The remaining Project funding will come <br /> from the Company. <br />