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OC' co,,: ~ .,- BT.T.REAU OF RECLAMATION REPORT In the report, Colorado River Storage Project and Participating Projects, a 50-year repayment period for irrigation construction costs is outlined for participating projects. In this period, at the esti- mated rate of payment, the Seedskadee project farmers could pay $4,135,000 toward construction costs, The remaining $16,244,000 of the construction. cost could be paid from the Upper Colorado River Account that would be established from revenues of the storage project to assist irrigators in paying costs of participating projects. A development period of from 5 to 10 years after the first delivery of water to a particular irrigation block would be desirable before water users were assessed project construction costs. This period would permit .the farmers to prepare the lands for irrigation and organize their farm- ing operations so that they could begin to realize benefits of the devel- opment at the time assessments were started. Repayment Organization ., A contracting entity, preferably of the conservancy district type, would be necessary for the pgrpose of contracting with the United states for payment of reimbursable costs. The district would be needed at the time settlement began. Comparison of Benefits and Costs Benefits from the Seedskadee project attributable to Federal expenditures would compare with the attendant Federal costs in a ratio of 1.15 to 1. For the comparison both benefits and costs were computed as average annual e'luivalents at 2.5 percent interest over a 100-year period beginning with the first year of full project operation. The benefits were based on average prices for the period 1939-1944. Operation, maintenance, and replacement costs were also based on the 1939-1944 prices while construction costs were based on higher prices prevailing in Decem~ ber 1949. Future variations in these price levels might result in a dif- ferent benefit -cost ratio than is presently indicated as the actual ratio would depend on the relationship between prices at the time of construc- tion and average prices prevailing throughout the useful life of the project. The net value of benefits from Federal expenditures is estimated at $1,056,600 annually. This includes the direct benefits to farmers that would result from increased crop and livestock production and the indirect benefits that would result from processing of the additional agricultural products and from increased local sales of goods and serv- ices. In estimating benefits an allowance was made for a $10,000 loss in fish and wildlife values that the Fish and Wildlife Service antici- pates as a result of the Seedskadee project. 12