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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Feasibility Study <br />Woodchuck Ditch Company <br />Ditch Reconstruction <br /> <br />Introduction (Need for the Project) <br /> <br />The Woodchuck Ditch Company (WDC), located in Routt County, operates the Woodchuck Ditch <br />for the benefit of the shareholders by providing direct flow irrigation water, The ditch diverts from <br />Soda and Gunn Creeks, 4 miles northwest of Steamboat Springs, and water deliveries are made <br />through the Company's ditch to the 390-acre service area, In 1997 a significant landslide occurred <br />taking out approximately 250 feet of ditch. The WDC spent $51,000 restoring the ditch and <br />hillside. In 1998, there continued to be earth movement and it cost the Company $4,800 to <br />reset the ditch, The hillside and ditch moved again in the fall of 1998 and the Company spent <br />$2,200 replacing it in the spring of 1999. It moved again late in the summer of 1999 and the <br />WDC now wants to construct a permanent fix prior to the 2000 irrigation season. The WDe is <br />eligible for a CWCB Small Project loan because delaying the project until summer or fall 2001 will <br />result in undue hardship on the borrower. <br /> <br />Project Sponsor <br /> <br />The WDC is a mutual ditch company and a non-profit corporation registered in the State of <br />Colorado, There are 13 shareholders and 738.5 shares of stock. The WDe has the power to <br />set annual assessments to be paid by the shareholders, the power to cut off water deliveries to <br />shareholders that fail to pay their assessments, and the power to offer stock for sale to pay back <br />assessments. The WDC articles of incorporation and by-laws are included in Appendix A. <br /> <br />Project Service Area and Facilities <br /> <br />The WDe provides irrigation water to a 390-acre service area in Routt County. The heading for <br />the Woodchuck Ditch is located north of Steamboat Springs, on Soda Creek, and extends west <br />approximately 6 miles. Along the way the ditch also diverts water from Gunn Creek, and then <br />traverses a steep hillside that is prone to landslides. Irrigated acreage within the service area is <br />primarily used to grow hay, A map of the Woodchuck Ditch and photos of the ditch system are <br />shown on pages 7 and 8, A map of the service area is in Appendix B, <br /> <br />Hydrology and Water Rights <br /> <br />The water rights for the Woodchuck Ditch consist of direct flow rights in total amount of 21.79 <br />cfs diverted from Soda and Gunn Creeks. Average annual total diversions have been curtailed <br />during the last 10 years due to continued problems with the landslide, which have routinely <br />forced the Company to shut down the ditch early. The Company expects to divert <br />approximately 975 acre-feet per year (2,5 acre-feet per acre irrigated) once the project is <br />completed. <br /> <br />Woodchuck Ditch Company <br />Feasibility Study <br />March 2000 <br /> <br />Page 6 of 13 <br />