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<br />'- ,. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />History of City of Grand Junction Water System <br /> <br />When Grand Junction was founded in 1881, who would have thought <br />that with two major rivers running through it's back yard, water would <br />become a major issue. <br />The development of a water supply for the City of Grand Junction <br />was much the same as the general trend nationwide, of first being <br />supplied, under contract, from a privately owned water company (Krusen <br />Water Company), with a direct river source. <br />The first water supplied to the residents of Grand Junction in <br />1889 was from the Colorado River via a pumping plant located at what <br />is currently the Fifth Street bridge. This water was not of very high <br />quality due to being muddy in the spring and during rain storms. <br />In 1889, because of the poor Colorado River water quality, the <br />City went away from the Krusen Water Company and built their own pump <br />station on the Gunnison River, which was thought to be a better <br />quality of water. This pump station pumped water up to a small <br />reservoir located on "Reservoir Hill" above the present day city <br />cemeteries. This is the present site of water treatment plant. At the <br />u---~me time a -new-4-istribution oyotem---was being constr ucted i:n--tOWH Lv <br />take advantage of this new source. <br />By 1905, however, the Town residents were again complaining about <br />water quality. The community began a search for a higher quality water <br />and eventually settled on the Kannah Creek area of Grand Mesa. <br />"Water.. .at any price" was the -direction given to the city by its <br />residents and in Kannah Creek a quality mountain source was found. <br />In 1907, the effort was started to acquire the first priority <br />water right -for 300 n inches", or 7.81 cubic feet per second of flow <br /> <br />9 <br />