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<br />CHAPTER VII <br /> <br />PROJECT EVALUATION <br /> <br />As stated earlier, the proposed Lake Loveland outlet tunnel <br />rehabilitation is an improvement to an existing deteriorating <br />system. The time frame involved in the construction for this <br />project is extremely critical since Lake Loveland is used both <br />for a source of irrigation water and as a source of domestic <br />water. Therefore, the lake can be drawn down for only a limited <br />time, otherwise, drastic complications will result. The earliest <br />a contractor can expect to begin work would be about September 15, <br />The refilling must begin on or about March 1, of the following <br />year. There should be no uncommon or unanticipated construction <br />problems except normal construction difficulties associated with <br />this type of rehabilitation. <br /> <br />The rehabilitation will have no measurable increase or de- <br />crease in the operation or maintenance of the system, The irriga- <br />tion system will operate relatively the same as presently operated. <br />There should be no increase or decrease in manpower to operate <br />the system. A detailed breakdown of the operation and maintenance <br />cost of the entire system is presented in Exhibits "E" and "F". <br /> <br />The rehabilitation is not an additional measurable benefit <br />for fish and wildlife, recreation, or drainage. The rehabilita- <br />tion is for safety and prevention of hazard for the reservoir, <br />users, and surrounding area, As stated earlier, there is pre- <br />sently a restriction of storage to 8.0 feet below the dam's crest <br />or gage rod height of 38.6 feet, and limited use of the outlet <br />works. This restriction exists because of the deteriorating out- <br />let works and the lack of a spillway. With the improvements to <br />the outlet works and assuming the limited use of the outlet works <br />is removed, a decrease in the restriction of storage is probable. <br />The exact decrease in the restriction of storage has not been <br />determined. A detailed hydrologic study approved by the State <br />Engineers Office would need to be performed to determine a recom- <br />mended decrease in restriction of storage. Each foot of restric- <br />tion represents approximately 500 acre feet of available storage. <br />In determining a monitary benefit to the irrigation users due to <br />the rehabilitation, if for example, the irrigation water was not <br />available due to the restriction of storage, the user would have <br />to buy Big Thompson water at a cost of approximately $800 per acre <br />foot. If for example, there was a decrease in restriction of <br />storage of one foot due to the rehabilitation, and the irrigation <br />users needed and used that additional one foot of storage, the <br />possible savings for the irrigation users would be 500 acre-feet <br />times $800 per acre-foot equaling $400,000. The possible savings <br />is tremendous. <br /> <br />9 <br />