History
The Tri-County Water Conservancy
District was formed in August 1957.
The main purpose for the organization of
the District was to provide an official
agency to promote participating projects
of the Colorado River Storage Project
Act in the counties covered by the
District. The original area to be served
consisted of the Uncompahgre drainage in
Ouray, Montrose and Delta counties.
In order for a project to be
constructed, such as the Dallas Creek
Project, it was necessary that there be
an official body such as this district
to contract with the United States of
America for the repayment of that
portion of the project which must be
repaid by the users of water in the
area.
In the early days of the District, in
addition to planned projects such as
what would become the Ridgway Reservoir,
there was an intent to create a
valley-wide domestic water distribution
system. In 1968, a contract was drawn up
with the City of Montrose to supply raw
water for domestic water use. An initial
sign-up period for water taps was begun.
The tap fee was $125. In 1970, contracts
were let for the construction of a
pipeline and series of water storage
tanks. In June of 1971, Tri-County Water
began delivering domestic water. There
were approximately 1200 taps on the
system. Today Tri-County Water
Conservancy District, in cooperation
with the Project 7 Water Authority,
serves water to over 7000 meters through
600+ miles of pipeline.
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