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Platte Valley Irrigation Company Agenda Item 27c November 19-20,2014 Board Meeting(Updated November 21, 2014) Page 2 of 4 Background The Platte Valley Irrigation Company (Company) is located in Weld County and provides raw water for the irrigation of approximately 14,800 acres of agricultural land extending from Platteville to approximately 28 miles north and east along Highway 85. The stock ownership of the Company is 100% agricultural. Crops grown in the service area include corn, beets, alfalfa hay, potatoes, and grains including oats, wheat, and barley. The Company diverts water for irrigation from the South Platte River near Platteville from a headgate jointly owned with Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company. Water is transported from the jointly owned Platte Valley Canal for approximately 10 miles until the Company's water is diverted into the Evans No. 2 Ditch. The Company uses Sand Hill Lake (aka Coal Ridge Waste Dam) to store and deliver Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) water to users under its ditch, as well as to deliver C-BT water for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District as part of the South Platte Supply Canal. Additionally, the Lupton Meadows Ditch Company uses Sand Hill Lake to store its water which is released through a separate outlet structure. C-BT water released from Sand Hill Lake is transported directly to the South Platte River, approximately 1 mile upstream of the Platte Valley Canal. In spring of 2013, the outlet gate's shaft separated from the Company's outlet gate prompting temporary repairs until permanent repairs could be made after irrigation season. In January 2014 while the Company was attempting repairs to the gate's shaft, a sink hole developed in the dam around the outlet structure. The SEO was immediately notified and emergency procedures, including having personnel at the site 24 hours per day until the Lake was safely drained, were implemented. Engineers with Frachetti Engineering and Brierley and Associates were engaged to design the repairs. Construction was put out to bid and Aslan Construction was the selected contractor. Loan Feasibility Study The Platte Valley Irrigation Company staff, including Donna Coble and Tami Sullivan, with assistance from Cort Nickel, P.E. of Frachetti Engineering, Inc., prepared the Loan Feasibility Study, titled "Feasibility of Rehabilitation of the Outlet Works at Sand Hill Lake," dated September 2014. The study includes an alternative analysis and construction cost. The feasibility study was prepared in accordance with the CWCB guidelines. Borrower- Platte Valley Irrigation Company The Company is a mutual ditch company and was incorporated in 1883. The Company's office is located in Greeley. It operates as a nonprofit corporation and is in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State. The Company has issued 344 shares of stock, owned by 91 shareholders. Additionally the Company owns 3,088 units of C-BT water used by 44 shareholders. The Company's revenues are primarily derived from assessments charged on shares of stock owned by the stockholders plus income from oil and gas leases. The Company's By-laws (2007) provide the five-member Board of Directors with authority to levy assessments to meet the necessary expenses of operation and maintenance of the Company, and to enforce unpaid assessments by ceasing water deliveries and eventually by selling the outstanding stock. The Board of Directors has the authority to exercise corporate powers of the Company and have general control and supervision over the property, affairs, and management of the Company. Additionally, the By-laws require that all shares of stock pay their pro-rata assessment for the cost for maintenance, repair, or improvement of Sand Hill Lake, whether or not the beneficial use of C-BT water is transferred by the stockholder.