Water for Glenwood Springs

Water for Glenwood Springs. . , The growing town of Glenwood Springs needed pure water, piped into homes and businesses, despite the effort and the cost., In February 1887, the Board of Trustees advertised statewide for construction bids to build a town water supply. The Crystal Water System won the bid with its offer to supply water from the Roaring Fork River. Due to the Roaring Fork's pollution, however, the proposal was soon thrown out. , Glenwood Springs founder Issac Cooper won approval in a re-bid. His plan to bring pure mountain water from No Name Creek began in late summer, but his untimely death in December 1887 stopped the project. With plenty of financial backing, Walter Devereux's Colorado Land and Improvement Co. assumed Cooper's contract. , Devereux's $80,000 plan brought water from No Name Creek to Glenwood Springs by way of a wooden flume attached to the walls of Glenwood Canyon. The ample flow powered the turbines of the electric plant, provided fresh water at the Hot Springs Pool, and when piped across the Colorado River, supplied water for domestic use, firefighting and irrigation. , Pure water, when and where you need it, is worth whatever it costs to get it there. John Wright, The Coming of the Water Famine, Photo caption: In 1888, municipal water flowed from No Name Creek to Glenwood Springs via a wooden flume. The creek still supplies water to the city, though now by tunnel.