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Flonda Consolidated Di[ch Company <br />May 17•18, 20i7 Board Mee[ing (Updated May 22, 2017) <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />Background <br />Agenda Item 27a <br />The Company is located in the San Juan River and Animas River Basins of La Ptata County, Colorado. It <br />owns and aperates 82 miles of irrigation canals, ditches, and laterals. The Company provides water <br />from the Florida River to 18,700 acres of irrigated agricutture. In addition, the Company provides <br />water to Pastorius Reservoir, a Colorado State Wildlife Area. <br />In 1963 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation constructed Lemon Reservoir as part of the Florida Project. It. <br />provides supplemental and sole•supply Florida Project water to irrigate up to 19,45Q acres of <br />agricultural land, most of which is located on the Florida Mesa and is served by the Company's <br />conveyance system. As a result, there are water users that receive water via the Company's system <br />but are not shareholders in the Company. The Florida Water Conservancy Qistrict pays the Company <br />for deEivery of the Florida Project water. <br />The Hess Lateral, part of the Company's conveyance system, is located seven mites south of Durango <br />on the Florida Mesa. The lateral serves approximately 67 water users who irrigate over 1,500 acres of <br />hay and pasture lands. <br />A portion of the Hess Lateral parailels Colorado Nighway 550. CDOT plans on expanding Colorado <br />Highway 550 in the near future. This expansion requires retocati�g over 21,OQQ feet of the Hess Laterat <br />alang the Highway Right-of-Way. CDOT is cooperating with [he Company on the retocation and has <br />committed $950,000 to the Project in tieu of relocating the lateral during the highway expansion. <br />The Company, in conjunction with the Naturat Resources Conservation Service (NRCS}, estimates this <br />Project wilt result in a water savings of 400-600 acre-feet (AF} per year due to reduction of tosses from <br />seepage and evaporation. Additional benefits from this Projet inctude lower operationat and <br />maintenance costs, decreased conveya�ce times, and reduced energy use for irrigators who currently <br />pump Erom the open ditch. Also, pressurizing the Hess Lateral will enable the on-farm conversion from <br />flood irrigation to more efficient irrigation methods such as center pivot sprinkter systems, further <br />increasing overatt Company's system efficiency and eliminating an estimated 136.8 tons per year of salt <br />load into the Animas River, according to NRCS. <br />Loan Feasibility Study <br />Peter Foster, P.E. with Wright Water Engineers, Inc., prepared the Loan Feasibility Study titled, "FCDC <br />Hess Laterat Improvement CWCB Loan Feasibility Study," dated May 2017. The feasibility study was <br />p�epared in accordance with CWCB guidelines and includes an analysis of alternatives, preliminary <br />engineering design, and construction cast estimates. <br />Borrower - Florida Consolidated Ditch Company <br />The Company is a mutual ditch company in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State. {t was <br />incorporated in 2014 through the consolidation of four existing mutual ditth companies: Florida <br />Farmers Ditch Company (formed in 1884), Ftorida Canal Company �1893), Florida Enlargement Canal <br />Company (1908), and Ftorida Co-Operative Ditch Company (1910). Upon merging, the shares in the <br />individuat ditch companies were consolidated and redistributed as Class A, Ctass B, ClaSs C, and Ctass <br />D shares. There are 6,200 shares of stock and 280 shareholders. <br />The Company is governed by a seven-member board of directors; however, shareholders must approve <br />the annual budget each year at the annual shareholder meeting. The Board has the authority to <br />enforce assessments by ceasing water deliveries until the sum due is paid. <br />