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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I PROJECT SERVICE AREA The service area of The Highland Ditch Company, Inc. is shown on Figure 1. The service area encompasses approximately 40,000 acres of land of which approximately 25,000 acres is irrigated by the Highland Ditch Company. Crops grown in the service area includes corn, pinto beans, sugar beets, wheat, barley, oats, alfalfa and grass hay. The gross income from production on this land is estimat.ed at 8 to 9 million dollars per year. WATER RIGHTS The company's decreed water right for Foothills Reservoir has an appropriation date of July 13, 1910, a Priority No. 11, Third Series, for 4,340 acre-feet of water to a decreed gage height of 45 feet. A conditional refill decree was issued with a date of December 31, 1929, with an appropriation number of 23S, Third Series. This decree was later canceled by the District Court in 1965 due to lack of evidence showing diligence. Appendix C contains a copy of the recorded decrees for Foothills Reservoir and Appendix D contains a copy of the reservoir storage chart. Foothills Reservoir is utilized to store water from the Saint Vrain River during the spring runoff. The reservoir is filled through a supply canal that starts near Lyons and the discharges are back to the river directly below the reservoir. The water is exchanged in the river system by the water commissioner to allow the Company to withdraw water at its main headgate near Lyons which is upstream of Foothills Reservoir. NEED FOR THE PROJECT The Highland Ditch Company, Inc. is undertaking this project to meet the requirements of the State Engineer's Office; to ensure the continued safety of the dam; and, to continue to provide irrigation water to its shareholders with the intent to regain the maximum storage capacity of the reservoir. The Foothills Reservoir Dam and associated structures were constructed in 1911 and 1912. The dam is approximately 3,200 feet in length, has approximately 2-1/2 to 1 upstream slopes and 2-1/2 to 1 downstream slopes, a crest width of approximately 15 feet, and a maximum structural height of approximately 52 feet. The outlet works consist of a 30-inch diameter cast iron conduit imbedded in concrete with a Ludlow gate valve thirteen feet upstream of the head wall. The gate valve was replaced in 1987. The dam has leaked since it was first filled in 1912. This is evidenced by the report, included in Appendix A, by the State Engineer in 1913. The leakage was noted to increase dramatically when the reservoir was filled above gage height 40 feet. This is approximately the same elevation where excessive leakage is noted today. The seepage patterns from the 1913 report describe the leaks in a manner that is very similar to what we currently note. The report indicates the east half of the dam was constructed by a different contractor than the west half and the dam and that the Foothills Dam- 96.014 Page 2