This renewable resource is continuously recycled by evaporation, as water rises from the ocean and land through solar radiation and is redistributed through rainfall & snowmelt.
The movement of this water as it returns across property can sometimes cause problems. For more than a century, the Grand Valley Drainage District has worked for the residents of this area to make sure that people’s land, crops, and homes were safe from drainage problems.
The Grand Valley Drainage District is a Special District that is a division of local government. Formed on September 7, 1915, the district is responsible for safely returning ground water, irrigation water and storm water to the Colorado River.
Grand Valley Drainage District is vital because:
In the early 1900’s, The Bureau of Reclamation began funding the construction of a series of open drains to handle the abundant irrigation tail water and subsurface seep conditions caused by new canals and irrigation laterals. Today, this drainage system consists of over 258 miles of open and piped ditches throughout Mesa County and is maintained by Grand Valley Drainage District. The GVDD service area includes the lands from Palisade to Loma on the North side of the Colorado River.
