In the 1950’s and
early 1960’s the pollution on the Dolores River had increased to the extent
that farmers of the Montezuma County area became aware of probable health
hazards to their families. This was due to the fact that most farms were served
through the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company’s ditches and canal, from
which they filled cisterns for domestic water supply. A few farms had wells for
domestic water use. However wells in the area produce a very poor quality and,
in addition, most wells would go dry during the winter months. It became
apparent to many farmers that they would have to begin hauling their domestic
water, as many were doing in the western part of the country.
In early February of
1961, John Porter, who was a member of the County and State Farmers Home
Administration Boards, became aware that FmHA could finance rural water systems.
Mr. Porter met with Chuck Englehart, Revis Higgins, Charlie McAfee, and Charles
Porter all from the Lewis area. Together they wrote a letter of intent and
requesting aid from FmHA.
At about the same time
the group in Lewis was organizing, another group in the Lakeview area was
contemplating a similar system. Pat Wilson, J.T. Wilkerson and Fritz Murray were
working with the Lake View Grange to secure financing.
In June of 1963 a
meeting of all interested persons was held at the Empire Electric building in
Cortez. Representatives from Boettcher and Company, Morcan Engineering Co. and
FmHA were present to discuss financing and engineering. From this meeting
developed the concept of one large domestic system to serve most of the rural
Montezuma County. A steering committee was formed with Harvey Torres serving as
chairman. Others on the committee were Chuck Englehart, Frances McCabe, J.T.
Wilkerson, Roy Diffendaffer, Everett Tibbits, Gaylord Gardner, Herbert Shull,
and James Lambert.
Meetings were held and
interested people were collecting donations for the purpose of hiring an
engineer to prepare a preliminary report on the feasibility of a rural water
system.
By October
11, 1965,
test wells in Lost Canyon were completed and on November 15, 1965, Morcan
Engineering Co. of Delta submitted their preliminary report to the Board of
Directors of Montezuma Water Company. On the same day, an application was
submitted to FmHA for a loan in the amount of $1,276,000.00.
On the 21st
day of December 1965, the Amended Articles of Incorporation were signed and
mailed to the Secretary of State, State of Colorado. The Company incorporated
under the Statutes of the Colorado Non-Profit Corporation Act.
In
1966 right -of- way
for mainlines and for a tank was obtained. Late 1966, the loan with FmHA was
closed so construction could begin. At this time there were approximately 650
applications for service. People who originally requested service were charged
$125.00 for a membership.
By the fall of 1967,
construction of the initial system had been completed and water was being
transported in pipelines from the Lost Canyon wells as far north as Cahone and
as far south as the Ute Mountain Reservation.
By the summer of 1970
the company had expanded and the wells were not able to provide enough supply
for existing customers. The company approached the Town of Dolores for service
of treated water. A line was constructed under the Dolores River to tie into the
Towns lines. High water washed this line out so the line was attached to the
bridge.
In
1971 the company
secured its first surface water right of ˝ cfs for $10,000 and shortly after
traded taps for another ˝ cfs. By the end of 1972 the Company was providing
water service to approximately 925 households in two counties.
In 1974, due to the hard
work of W.T. (Dopey) Butler and Leona Alber, the company was able to purchase 10
cfs . This enabled the company to have enough water rights for the present time
and for many years to come. At the end of 1974 the company’s main problems
were inadequate water treatment and insufficient line capacity. The company was
serving 1,200 + customers.
From 1974 to 1983 the
company continued to purchase treatment from the Town of Dolores but the company
was growing too fast. Rural residents would routinely run out of water or water
that was received was muddy and a boil order was required. Approximately 1,950
households were being served by the end of 1983.
In January of 1984 five
(5) Board of Directors resigned their position on the Board over a personnel
dispute. W.T. Butler and Harvey Young were at the meeting, they were asked to
fill in and they did so. In March of 1984 the five vacancies were officially
filled
With all the growth and
problems mentioned previously, the company decided in 1984 that it was time to
build a water treatment facility. The Dolores Tunnel was also completed in 1984
and this would be the source for MWC. Property was purchased from Eldon Nelson
on Rd T. The construction of a MWC water treatment plant began. The plant was
completed in 1985 with two filters installed, bringing the treatment capacity to
2 million gallons per day. The existing members of MWC were assessed $350 for
each membership as well as acquiring a loan from a local bank. Members were allowed
to stuff envelopes, watch pumps, or make payments as a means to help pay their
assessment.
The company has used
its own personnel since 1988 to complete several major projects, such as seven
(7) miles of mainline in the Pleasant View area, four (4) miles of mainline in
McElmo Canyon, eight (8) miles on Penstock project, sixty-six (66) miles in Dove
Creek/Egnar, 4 pump stations, and the renovation of the office building in
Dolores. In 1990 Summit Ridge Water District started receiving water for their
distribution system from Montezuma Water Company. The Summit Ridge system
provides service for approximately 300 customers.
Currently the company
has approximately 3,500 members, over 400 miles of mainlines, over 200 hydrants,
and 20 full-time employees. The company provides 24-hour service 7 days a week, 365
days a year.
The company expanded
the water treatment plant in 1999 adding 2 additional filters and a new
sedimentation process. The expanded plant has a capacity of 4 million gallons
per day. The new sedimentation process allows the plant to be more efficient and
produce a higher quality of water. It also allows MWC to meet the requirements
of the future in regard to the new safe drinking laws. MWC is currently working
on a SCADA system (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) that will allow
operators to monitor tanks and metering sites placed throughout the system and
control plant operations from a computer at the plant.