Virgin River Pump Station

Virgin River Pump Station. . , One of the most difficult challenges in the settlement of Bloomington, Price City and Atkinville in the late 1860's was taking water from the Virgin River and using the water to irrigate the various farm crops. After years of trying to find a way to master the river, these settlements were mostly abandoned for better places to raise crops and families., This structure was built in 1965 for the purpose of lifting water from the Virgin River and pumping it onto the Dan Heaton farm, now known as the Bloomington Country Club Golf Course. In addition, water from the Bloomington Canal Company which was taken from the Santa Clara River north of the I-15 freeway bridge was dropped into this structure via a ditch line and then pumped onto the farmland and eventually used to water the golf course, which was built in 1969., Over time the Virgin River dropped in elevation from erosion. The stream bed moved from the west side of the flood plain to the east side of the flood plain, making it impossible to direct the water to this structure. Diversion dams were built but also failed to divert enough water to this structure to be usable. Thus, the Virgin River pump station was abandoned in 1982. Once again the river proved it was not to be tamed by mankind. Fortunately, there were other sources of water and diversion points to provide water for the golf course and the ever growing community of Bloomington.