BOARD01958

• Board Meeting Date: 7/20/2004
• Description: CF Section - New Loans - Smart Brothers, Inc. - Groundwater Recharge Project
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

.

STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

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

~

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

FROM:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Bruce Johnson, P.E. (5J ~~If (
Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief ~ ~
Water Supply Planning and inance Section

Russell George
Executive Director

TO:

Rod Kuharich
eWeB Director

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

DATE: July 9,2004

SUBJECT: Agenda Item 14a, July 20-21,2004 Board Meeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance Section - New Loans
Smart Brothers, Inc. - Groundwater Recharge Project

Introduction

Smart Brothers, Inc. (SBI) is applying for a $239,850 loan from the Severance Tax Trust Fund
Perpetual Base Account, to enhance and expand an existing groundwater recharge project for well
augmentation. The estimated total cost of the project is $266,500. Please see the attached project
summary and map.

Backaround

Smart Bros. Inc. (SBI) is a family owned and operated farming and custom cattle feeding
corporation in Northeastern Colorado, located approximately 2 miles southwest of Atwood, on the
south side of the South Platte River. The business is owned by three brothers, Austin, Garrett and
Carson Smart. The Smart family has been farming in the area since the late 1940's. The SBI farm
consists of approximately 1250 acres of sprinkler and flood irrigated farm ground and a 5000 head
feedlot operation, with plans to expand to 8000 head. The SBI farm ground is irrigated with direct
flow water, reservoir water and 9 tributary groundwater wells. The water is typically used to irrigate
400 to 500 acres of corn, and the rest is in alfalfa. The feedlot has water provided by 3 commercial
wells.

The 12 wells are currently augmented under the Logan Well Users (LWU) plan of operation, and
produce approximately 1215 acre-feet of depletions per year SBI currently has different sources of
augmentation they can use for their well depietions, including an existing recharge area, but those
sources are not sufficient especially in drought years. LWU has successfully been used for the
past 2 years to cover the SBI shortages in augmentation coverage on these wells, at a cost of
$25/AF for summer depletions and $12/AF for winter depletions. In 2004 SBI paid $25,000 to LWU
for coverage, and will get all or part of that back depending on the number of recharge and
augmentation well credits they are able to generate.

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