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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br /> <br />Department of Natural Resources <br /> <br />721 Centennial Building <br />1 31 3 Sherman Street <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866-3441 <br />FAX: (303) 866-4474 <br /> <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />Roy Romer <br />Govemor <br /> <br />James S. Lochhead <br />Executive Director, DNR <br /> <br />Daries C. Lile, PE. <br />Director, CWCB <br /> <br />(Updated March 21,1997) <br /> <br />TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members <br /> <br />FROM: John Van Sciver <br /> <br />DATE: March 13, 1997 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Agenda Item lOa., March 20-21, 1997, Board Meeting-- <br />The Cotton Creek Water Company (S Bar C Farms) <br />Approval of a Small Project Construction Fund Loan in amount of $100,000 <br />to rehabilitate the Cotton Creek Airline Ditch. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The Cotton Creek Water Company (CCWC), 100% owned by the S Bar C Farms and located <br />in Saguache County, has submitted an application for a loan to rehabilitate the Cotton Creek <br />Airline Ditch. They request a loan of $100,000 (about 50% of the maximum estimated total <br />project cost of $205,400). <br /> <br />The Cotton Creek Airline Ditch diverts water from Cotton Creek as it emerges from the Sangre <br />De Cristo range, approximately 10 miles northeast of the Town of Moffat, in the San Luis <br />Valley. There is a diversion structure on the creek and about 2.5 miles of unlined ditch running <br />west across BLM lands to the farm. The Airline was constructed in 1916 as a "U" shaped metal <br />channel, suspended from fence posts (thus the name "Airline"), and operated, with considerable <br />maintenance problems, until about 1936. Its purpose was to efficiently get water over the very <br />pervious alluvial fan which lay between the mouth of the canyon, and the irrigated lands. After <br />1936, a parallel ditch replaced the hanging flume, but it was difficult to use because of high <br />seepage losses. <br /> <br />The owners of the ditch have been leaving the Airline water in Cotton Creek's natural channel <br />(which loops north), and diverting it at the Hoffman diversion near the farm. This still results <br />in significant seepage losses, and in 1996 (a dry year when total diversions were only 1348 <br />acre feet) they were short of water for irrigation. (See attached map.) <br />