RAINBOW LAKE

August 2024 Update

 

We have sent out invitations to Rainbow Lake residents for a Fundraiser at Eric and Diane Penrod’s lakeside villa, 1449 Larsen Road, Lakeside. We look forward to seeing a large group of generous folks who have what we think is the last chance to save Rainbow Lake, not only as an irrigation reservoir, but also a sports and recreation destination that will be Arizona’s prime example of water conservation.

We hope to have speakers from the Town, the Irrigation Company and Rainbow Lake Coalition who have collaborated on a $2 million grant application to the Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation to modernize the Irrigation Company’s 150-year-old open ditch system to pipe the water through an area where the Company has lost 30-35% of its water through seepage and water theft. The result of this project means more water in the Lake throughout the irrigation season for recreational purposes and a source of nourishment for our fish and game.

Without the help of the Lake’s residents and friends, the Town and the Irrigation Company do not have the financial resources to obtain the matching funds. Rainbow Lake Conservation Company is a 501 (c)(3) corporation formed specifically to raise charitable contribution money for saving Rainbow Lake. Every dollar donated to RLCC for the Lake is tax-deductible to the good people who write checks to meet the matching fund pot.

Those of you who contribute $3000 or more to this project will receive a banner showing off Rainbow Lake during the Balloon Festivals. Those who contribute $10,000 or more will receive a flag featuring the beauty of Rainbow Lake. Regardless of the amount, you will receive a receipt suitable for the IRS examination.

The greatest gift you can give yourself is a donation that can help modernize a natural resource, protect it for the ages and be a contribution to a bountiful environment you can see every day you walk by Rainbow Lake.

The Irrigation Company will be sending requests to all of their shareholders to support this urgent request for charitable contributions. The Company is going to ‘pause’ our monthly payments to help them keep the Lake full for the next four months while we work to scrape together the rest of the $500,000 matching fund.

If we are successful in reaching our goal, the Company has agreed to forgive those contractual payments! The whole reason we are in this desperate effort to fix their infrastructure is that they have had to endure enormous legal expenses to protect the waters feeding the Lake from claimants who have now withdrawn their claims.

Please favor us with your donation. You will have joined many others in a once in a lifetime chance to save one of the jewels of the White Mountains and protect this beautiful community’s investment in the future.

Yours,

Dave Derickson
Vice President, RLCC
RLCC6311@gmail.com