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<br />Feasibility of the Repair <br />of the <br />South Platte Ditch Company Headgate <br /> <br />Project Sponsor <br /> <br />The South Platte Ditch Company (SPDC) is a Colorado Mutual Ditch Company and a Non- <br />profit Corporation, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are included in Appendix A. <br /> <br />The Company's facilities, built about the turn of the century, are located on the South Platte <br />River about 5 miles southwest of the town of Merino. They consist of a roll-over type dam <br />across the South Platte River, a headgate structure to divert water into the delivery ditch, two <br />wasteways to return excess water to the river and approximately 14 miles of ditch, The ditch <br />has a capacity of 137.5 cfs with an ability to supply about 275 acre-feet of water per day <br />during the irrigation season, <br /> <br />The Company also operates the Sandhill Recharge Project which, branches off the main ditch <br />and delivers water to natural ponds to recharge the aquifer. The water is sold on an annual <br />basis to Groundwater Appropriators of the South Platte (GASP) under a long term contract. <br /> <br />Project Service Area <br /> <br />The service area of the SPDC includes approximately 4,400 acres of farmland in Logan and <br />Washington counties. Irrigated crops consist of com, alfalfa, sugar beets, pinto beans and <br />wheat. <br /> <br />Need for the Project <br /> <br />The SPDC is undertaking this project to continue to provide irrigation water to its <br />shareholders to irrigate their crops. <br /> <br />Due to a flood in the summer of 1995, the Company's main headgate structure and the river <br />dam received extensive damage. Prolonged exposure to flood water undermined the concrete <br />floor of the headgate, cracking the floor and moving the whole structure, The flood also <br />undermined a retaining wall, damaged a sand gate in the river dam, and washed around the <br />north side of the diversion leaving a breach about 100 feet wide, <br /> <br />The Company also owns and operates the Sandhill Ditch Recharge Project which is unable to <br />run water due to the condition of the headgate. The Company cannot divert water for either <br />purpose until the structure is repaired. <br /> <br />1 <br />