BOARD01208

• Board Meeting Date: 5/23/2005
• Description: CF Section - New Project Loans Bijou Irrigation District - Empire Reservoir Dam Rehabilitation
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

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Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX; (303) 8664474
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

TO:

FROM:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Bruce Johnson, P.E. ~. .
Mike Serlet, P.E., Chi .
Water Supply Planning a Inance Section

Russell George
Executive DireCtor

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

DATE: May 13, 2005

SUB'JECT: Agenda Item 15a, May 24-25,2005 Board Meeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance Section - New Project Loans
Bijou Irrigation District - Empire Reservoir Dam Rehabilitation

Introduction

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The Bijou Irrigation District (BID) is applying for a $666,000 loan from the Severance Tax Trust Fund
Perpetual Base Account, to rehabilitate the Empire Reservoir by constructing a new spillway and
installing toe drains at two embankment locations. The estimated total cost of the project is $740,000.
Please see the attached Project Data Sheet.

. Backaround

The BID owns and operates Empire Reservoir located west of Fort Morgan in Weld and Morgan
Counties, between 1-76 on the south and US Highway 34 on the north. BID provides irrigation
water to a 19, 177-acre service area in Morgan County, located between the reservoir and the City
of Fort Morgan. BID is a taxing district that levies a tax per acre based on benefits received, not an
ad valorem property tax. The irrigation water is primarily used to grow corn (approx. 70%) and hay
....'Capprox 20%)." -In'addition-to the Reservoir, -BID'owns and operates the diversion structure on-the .-'."
South Platte and the reservoir intake and outlet ditches. Water stored in the reservoir is delivered
to users through a sister company, Bijou Irrigation Company (BIC), which operates and maintains
the distribution system, used for either direct irrigation or exchanges. BIC has direct flow rights at
the Bijou Canal diversion on the South Platte, and maintains about 90 miles of ditch, Bijou NO.2
Reservoir, and some augmentation ponds.. Empire Reservoir is used to supplement the direct
flows, typically in July and August. Annual delivery from the reservoir is about 19,900 acre-feet.
The proposed loan for Empire Reservoir is to the District and does not involve the BIC.

Empire Reservoir is an off-stream reservoir constructed in 1905. Water is diverted from the South
Piatte River through the Empire Intake Ditch. The dam is a Class 1 Dam with a height of 35 feet
and a crest width of 16 feet. There are essentially four separate dam embankments that impound
water, with lengths as follows:

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Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning