WSP04285 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Quite obviously, the quota system is only one of many of the policies, pro- cedures, rules and regulations which required consideration by the Board. Many were formulated and adopted to set the patterns for District operation when project construction was completed in the summer of 1956. Prior to that completion and under interim water rental contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation, the District was responsible for year-by~year water deliveries to the east slope tributary basins as segments of the project system were com- pleted and became operable. When Adams Tunnel waS finished in June 1947, waters diverted from the Colorado River could only be delivered to users on the Big Thompson River. With Horsetooth Reservoir and its feeder and supply canals completed, water deliveries were made available to the Cache la Poudre River in 1951. By 1954, Carter Lake Reservoir and St. Vrain Supply Canal were fully constructed and Boulder Feeder Canal was completed to Lefthand Creek. Thus, District water deliveries could serve all areas except the Boulder Creek valley and the South Platte River section between Fort Lupton and Greeley. As 1954 was one of the lowest Water supply years of record and, fortunately. the carry,-over in Granby Reservoir was adequate, the District delivered over 301,000 acre-feet to the water userS who could be reached by completed portions of the project system. After those several provisions of the 1956 Contract Supplement were ful- filled, District operations under the terms of the 1938 Repayment Contract automatically commenced in 1962. Through 1973, twelve annual payments of $450 000 each have been made to the U.S. Eight additional payments of the sam~ amount will be made annually through 1981. For the ten years which follow thereafter, the construction repayment increases to $500,000 per year. In each of the final ten years of the 40-year repayment period. the District must pay one-tenth of the remaining balance then due to liquidate the agreed total of $25 000,000. This will mean annual payments of $1,100,000 each. Recognizin~ the need for advance accumulation of funds to meet those "bal- loon" payments, the Board negotiated another supplement to. the base contract. The agreement with the United States provided t~at the DistrIct co~ld estab- lish an escrow reserve fund into which. any excess revenues may be Invested at the discretion of the board. Subsequently, the Board contracted with the United Bank of Denver to act as the District's investment agent. As Conser- vancy District law restricts such investments to issues of the United States, the current escrow reserve of about $1,200,000 is invested in long-term U.S. Government bonds. The Board anticipates that continuing deposits to the escrow reserve over the years through 1991, together with the interest earn~ ings thereon. will pr.ovide the monies needed to retire the fina.l segment of Its $25.000,000 indebtedness sometime between 1992 and 2001. Thus, for ten years, 1947 through 1956, the District, operating under in- terjm contracts with the U.S., gradually expanded its water delivery services to '~atch the physical capabilities of the project as each segment of the system was constructed. During 1956, the Board negotiated for and entered into a new contract which supplemented the 1938 repayment contract and which more precisely defined the coordination of operations between the District and the Reclamation Bureau. This waS a very necessary and useful step which ~quired completion in advance of full service operation by the District com- mencing in 1957. Briefly, the Contract Supplement provided for a five-year operating period preceding the commencement of the 40-year construction repayment schedule established in the ~938 base contract. Additionally, it spelled out precisely the project features which would be retained, oper'ated. and maintained by the U.S.; the facilities for which the District would be fully responsible; and, lastly, those works which the U.S. would operate and main- tain at COSts to be shared equally by the U.S. and the District. The five-year time period permitted accomplishment of several significant ma.tters ~hich the District wished to achieve. It fixed an operating pattern almost identical to that which would be utilized during the 40-year repa.yment period except for disposition of District revenues. With the capability of full service, the Board authorized the levy of a full one mill ad valorem tax against properties within the District and certified the special assessments provided in water allotment contracts. With those revenues, first available in 1957 and continuing through 1961, the Board repaid the U.S. nearly $3.000,000 for service facil- ities which were requested by the District and built into ,the project during construction but which were additional features not called for by terms of the 1938 contract. Further, the Board }lsed revenues of that five-year period to establish a District repair and replacement reserve of $300,000; a similar reserve of $400,000 for protection of "joint works"; and a contingency reserve of $100,000. 100.000 Annwl Contract Repayment Schedule far District's Sllare of rhe Constructioo Cost of the CoktradoBigThomprooProject 1.200,000 1.100,000 1.000,000 900.000 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300.000 200,000 _Beginning af Permanent , Repayment Period TOTAL REPAYMENT" $27,833,065 In addition to the described contractual dealings with the United States, the District assumed full responsibility, in 1957, for administration, op~ration, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the C-BT water distribution facilities. These obligations, in conjunction with the administration of District water allotment