BOARD00678

• Board Meeting Date: 3/20/2000
• Description: CF Section - Woodchuck Ditch Company
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone [phone] M E M 0 RAN DUM
FAX: [phone]

Q

TO:

Bill Owens
Governor

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

John Van Sciver, P.E. ~.s
Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief //./ (
Water Supply Planning ~WFinance Section.

FROM:

Greg E.Walcher
Executive Director

Peter H. Evans
eWeB Director

DATE: March 2, 2000

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 10a., March 20-21, 2000 Board Meeting
The Woodchuck Ditch Company

Introduction
The Woodchuck Ditch Company (WDC) is applying for a $40,000 Small Project Loan to
reconstruct a 400-foot portion of the Company's ditch. The estimated total cost of the project is
$150,000. Please see the attached project summary and map.

BackQround
The WDC, located in Routt County, operates the Woodchuck Ditch for the benefit of the
shareholders by providing direct flow irrigation water. The ditch diverts from Soda and Gunn
Creeks, 4 miles northwest of Steamboat Springs, and water deliveries are made through the
Company's ditch to the 390-acre service area. In 1997 a significant landslide occurred taking out
approximately 250 feet of ditch. The WDC spent $51,000 restoring the ditch and hillside. In
1998, there continued to be earth movement and it cost the Company $4,800 to reset the ditch.
The hillside and ditch moved again in the fall of 1998 and the Company spent $2,200 replacing
it in the spring of 1999. It moved again late in the summer of 1999 and the WDC now wants to
construct a permanent fix prior to the 2000 irrigation season. The WDC is eligible for a CWCB
Small Project loan.

Feasibility Studies
This project qualified for federal funding and engineering design assistance from the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Mike DiLuzio, P.E. has completed final plans
and specifications for the project. The Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District (UYWCD) has
also committed funding and technical assistance. John Van Sciver will complete the CWCB
Feasibility Study using information provided by the UYWCD, the NRCS, and the Company. The
study is in final draft form and includes an assessment of alternatives for reconstruction of this
portion of the WDC ditch.