Documentary History of American Water-works

Green River, Wyoming

Green River was incorporated in 1868..

The first waterworks were built in 1868 by the Union Pacific Railway Company to supply their locomotives.  The Union Pacific incorporated the Green Mountain Water Works Company in Iowa around 1887 and they built a larger system that served the cities of Green River and Rock Springs. .

The water system was sold in 1960 by the Southern Wyoming Utilities Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Rail Road, to the Pacific Power and Light Company (PP&L).

PP&L sold the water system in 1988 to cities of Green River, Rock Springs, and other entities that formed the Joint Powers Water Board.

Water is supplied by the Joint Powers Water Board and distributed by the City of Green River.

References
1868 Photograph of Railroad Construction in Green River, showing Union Pacific Water Tank, from Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery, by Ferdinand V. Hayden, Plate XI (1870)

1873 Report of the Government Directors of the Union Pacific Railroad, December 1, 1873.
Pages 75-76:  Location of 75 water-stations, dimensions of tank, power used, and source of supply.
Green River - Tank 16 by 24 supplied from river by steam-pump.

1888 "Green River," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 1.

1890 "Green River," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 2.

1891 "Green River," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 3.

1893 Report of the Commissioner of Railroads
Page 112:  Green River
The main pumping station of the Green River Water Works is located at this point. 
The water supply is taken from Green River Water Works by Standpipe.

1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, April 1894

1897 "Green River," from Manual of American Water Works, Volume 4.

1907 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, June 1907

1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, May 1912

1916 In the Matter of the Complaint of J. E. Mills, et. al. vs Green River Water Company, September 20, 1916, Public Service Commission of the State of Wyoming | also here |

1917 "Green River Improvements," Fire and Water Engineering 61(15):195 (April 11, 1917)

1920 "To Build Big Water Tank at Green River," Wyoming State Tribune, June 23, 1920, Page 3.

1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming, October 1920

1960 "PP&L makes $3.2 Million Southwestern Wyoming Purchase from UPRR Subsidiary," Casper Morning Star (Casper, Wyoming), November 10, 1960, Page 12.

1988 "Sweetwater water system deal may be completed by February," Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), January 8, 1988, Page 9.
Package worked out after nearly 3 years of negotiations between cities, board.
Following nearly three years of negotiations between a joint powers water board and two city governments, the purchase of a water system to serve Rock Springs, Green River and several nearby communities may be completed in February. A $22 million purchase-and-improvement package for the takeover of the $15.5 million Pacific Power and Light Corp. system, one of the few privately-owned water systems in the state, was worked out in April among the two city governments and the Joint Powers Board. The package includes $15.5 million to pay PP&L and another $6.5 million for improvements to the systems. To finance the deal the board will use $11 million appropriated by the Legislature in 1986 and $11 million in locally-issued revenue bonds. Joint Powers chairman Paul Anselmi said that the 90-day purchase contract calls for closing the deal the first week in February. But the sale is subject to final approval by the PPL board and the sale of $11 million in revenue bonds by bond underwriters Kirkchner Moore and Co. A 90-day purchase agreement was signed Nov. 3, and final purchase is scheduled for the first week in February. Public works departments of the two cities are busy working out details for the takeover. The major sticking point during negotiations was whether the Joint Powers Board would handle both treatment and distribution of water, or whether the two municipalities would handle distribution.

2008 Green River, by Terry Alan Del Bene, Ruth Lauritzen, Cyndi McCullers

2009 Water System Master Plan, Phase 1, Green River-Rock Springs Sweetwater County Joint Powers Water Board, January 2009.

2018 "The Legal Version of a Main Break," by David T McGimpsey, Journal of the American Water Works Association 110(6):75-76 (June 2018)

The Railroad Comes to Green River

© 2020 Morris A. Pierce