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South Platte Task Force <br />June 29, 2007 <br />Presented on behalf of The Farmers Re servoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) <br />FRICO operates 4 major reservoirs a nd 400 miles of canals extending across <br />3,500 square miles from Denver to Greel ey. FRICO map an d service area <br />attached. <br />FRICO has municipal and ag ricultural users. Western divisions, Standley and <br />Marshall largely urbanized. FRICO syst em is main water supply for 250,000 in <br />NW Metro area. <br />FRICO’s divisions east of the South Platte River, Barr – including Henrylyn <br />District—and Milton remain agricultur al. FRICO/Henrylyn system provides <br />irrigation supply for more than 60,000 acres. <br />The FRIO/Henrylyn system is one of th e largest if not the largest block of <br />irrigated farm land in Weld County under a si ngle water supply system. [Table 1] <br />Wells are different than surface diversions. When a senior call is asserted against an <br />upstream canal, the headgate is closed and wate r is immediately available to the senior. <br />If water is diverted from a well, it has a l ong term depletion to th e river that cannot be <br />turned off. To protect the rights of the senior owner, well augmentation plans must be <br />able to show that they will ha ve adequate replacement water to offset future depletions <br />when and where they occur. And a senior ca ll will always be a probability that must be <br />addressed. <br />FRICO does not itself use wells as part of its water supply. A minority of FRICO <br />shareholders do have wells in addition to their surface water supply. FRICO has been a <br />participant in the various Water Court applic ations to protect the surface water supplies <br />which is the sole supply for a majori ty of the Company’s shareholders. <br />FRICO has not opposed the Central well appl ications for the purpose of shutting down <br />wells without good reason. In f act, FRICO and Henrylyn have supported Central’s <br />efforts to benefit from the recent high water. <br />Central GMS was able to increase its cu rrent allotment by 50% [increasing from <br />a 20% to a 30% allocation]. The largest part of this increase was due to water <br />diverted by Henrylyn through the FRICO Bu rlington system to deliver water for <br />the benefit of Central in the Box Elder Valley. FRICO neither asked for nor <br />received any compensation for the use of its system that has increased Central’s <br />2007 allocation by 50%. <br />1 <br />