PROJ00455

• Contract/PO #: C153583
• Contractor Name: Ute Water Conservancy District
• Water District: 0
• Bill Number: XB 99-999
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 General

The Ute Water Conservancy District (District) is currently providing water to the Greater Valley
area of Mesa County, Colorado with the exception of the municipal system service areas of
Palisade, Clifton, and Grand Junction. Recent changes from predominantly rural farming usage to
residential and commercial usage, along with population growth in the District's service area has
placed high demands for delivery of a large, sustainable volume of high quality water to the
District's water treatment facility. The existing water transmission system is physically capable of
handling only 10 MGD ( 15.5 cfs). The current peak water demand is estimated to be on the order
of 11.7 MGD(18.1 cfs), therefore, the district is currently experiencing water shortages during peak
demand periods, which was the case for several days during summer of 1990. If current population
growth trends continue, by the year 201O(a 20 year study cycle), the volume of water required to
meet the water demands is estimated to be on the order of 15.5 MGD (24 cfs). It is clear that with
the existing water transmission system the District can not meet such demands and water shortages
will be imminent. Furthermore, the existing water delivery system is nearing the end of its design
life cycle and its reliability as a single means of water transmission presents some concerns.

In order to determine a possible alternative for providing an adequate and reliable water
transmission system, the District retained Western Engineering, Inc. (WEI) to conduct a feasibility
study of the Plateau Creek Pipeline. The WEI report presented six alternatives to provide raw
water to the District's treatment plant. WEI's recommended alternative was to augment the existing
24-inch pipeline with a larger parallel pipeline. In the existing tunnel area, the proposed alternative
called for re-routing the pipeline around the tunnel section.

Following review and evaluation of the WEI report, it was determined that the recommended
alternative route for the pipeline presented special regulatory and engineering considerations which
would require additional evaluation. In October 1990, the District retained the team of Steffen
Robertson and Kirsten (U.S.), Inc. (SRK) and Brierley and Lyman, Inc. (BLI) to further evaluate
the feasibility and requirements for this section of the pipeline. After studying the proposed
alternatives, the SRK/BLI team determined that an alternate delivery system may be feasible for
this section. This alternative consisted of a new tunnel to be constructed parallel and adjacent to
the existing Plateau Creek Tunnel.

In order to evaluate the technical, permitting and fmancial considerations for the pipeline bypass
alternative versus the SRK/BLI tunnel alternative, an amendment feasibility study was conducted.
The results of this study are presented in this report.

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