The Greeley tribune., 1906-03-22

The city council last Tuesday
evening placed upon it's final passage
the ordinance asked, by the Bellan-
Price company that has taken the
ponds for the new water system.
This was the final straw in legal
way that stood in the actual road to
constructing the system. The actual
work upon the system will commence
as soon as the condition of the
weather will permit.
The Jacobson Bade company is
under a heavy bond to complete the
system between now and Jan. /, 1907,
so there now seems no possible way
of lodging a large and excellent sup
ply of soft mountain water for Gree
ley in less than one year. The idea
almost takes our breath away.
There were so many obstacles in
the way of new water system, and
especially gravity system, that
would bring good water from the
mountains, that it really seemed for
a long time as though it would be
years before such thing could be
accomplished, if it could ever be
made possible. 1T is really four
years since the city council and
mayor began an active campaign for
a better water supply. The large
amount of work done in that direc-
tion, the number of schemes proposed
and Investigated, only to be rejected,
the little dabs of money spent for
looking up water rights, and the
final settlement upon the present
plan that proved successful, has to
large extent been secret history in
the council.
The mayor and council, with a
few confidential friends, worked
carefully and tirelessly upon the
various schemes, secrecy being one OF
the necessities toward success. The
different plans had plenty of opposi-
tiop, so that it was not wise to take
the public into the confidence OF the
council until that body had some
plan attractive enough to meet the
demand of a majority of the people.
At first the Big Thompson river
was looked upon as the best source
for a water supply. Mayor Il. Z.
Watson, and, at least some members
of the council favored this on ac-
count of the estimated lower cost OF
construction. In the latter part OF
1902, the council had contracted with
w. r. Adams for about seven feet
Of water but legal complications
coming up in the effort to change
the point of diversion this plan was
finally abandoned. 1t then looked
as though the whole scheme hao oee'l
thrown into the air.
Finally another election came Oh
in the spring of 1905. Mr.. watson
was again nominated by one lactloi,
lit could hardly be called party) ana
franklin J.. Green by another.
Roth men were practically pledged
or at least favored, the mountain
wafer scheme. Green was elected
and with him council also laVor-
able to a gravity water system Inc
c,mnairn of education that had been
conducted during the three years by
friends of the plan, resulted in the
neonle at that election also voting
so5o 600 in bonds for the construction
Of a pipe line from the Poudre river
canon, about IS miles from Greeley
The vote upon this question was
practically unanimous for the sys-
TEN. -, +,,
,eonle and the assurance or 1uhos
,ith which to carry out the work
fine new mayor and city council went
after it with energy. George "
Anderson of Denver was engaged as
consulting engineer and the survey
made for the proposed pipe line
HE estimate ran about $4,000 more