Prescott Water Works Pump House, Del Rio Springs, Prescott

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-92. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Prescott Water Works Pump House is an example of early long- distance pumping efforts in the American Southwest. Description: Most of the early Southwest towns had sources of water for municipal use located above the town and a gravity system to distribute the water. The opposite situation existed at Prescott, Arizona. The only dependable source of water located a reasonable distance from town was Del Rio Springs. A large pumping plant was built at the springs, which lifted water to Prescott, some 20 miles away. Only the foundation of the pumping plant remains today, located under large trees surrounding the Del Rio Springs. Also visible are the remains of the railroad embankment built for the track spur that went to the site of the pump house from the Santa Fe Railway.

The pump keeper s house is intact and occupied by a family that leases the property. History: Before the town of Prescott secured its water supply from a well sunk in the bed of Granite Creek, an intermittent stream. During the dry summer of while the reservoir was empty, three-fourths of the business district burned. The citizens realized they had to either abandon the town or find a new water supply. The Prescott Water Works Pump House was thus built to provide a dependable water supply to the city. The town fathers bought the water rights to Del Rio Springs and developed plans to pump water uphill from them to Prescott. George W. Sturdevant, Jr. of Chicago designed a pump plant and pipeline in August PRESCOTT WATER WORKS PUMP HOUSE HAER No.

AZ-92 (Page 2) and construction began in December of that year. Work continued under the supervision of resident engineer Follett until final tests were completed on September 16, A steam-driven pumping station was installed at the springs, capable of lifting million gallons of water daily to Prescott. Coal from Gallup, New Mexico, was originally used to fire the 65-horsepower engine. A large triplex Deane pump with three double plungers was belted to the engine. The average daily flow of Del Rio Springs was about million gallons in Of this amount, the city of Prescott had obtained rights to million gallons a day. It is not known how long the pumping plant was in operation.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-92. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Baker, ed. The Manual of Water Works. New York: Engineering News Publishing Company, Follett, High Pressure Pumping Plant and Force Main for the Water-Works of Prescott, Arizona. Engineering News XLVIII, no. 25 (December 18, The McGraw Waterworks Directory New York: McGraw Publishing Company, Inc., Historians: Steve Rae and T. Lindsay Baker, August 2 and October 8,

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER AZ-92. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Prescott Water Works Pump House was inventoried for the Historic American Engineering Record as part of the Southwest Water Resources Project, a joint project with the Texas Tech Water Resources Center. The survey was subsequently published as Water for the Southwest: Historical Survey and Guide to Historic Sites by the American Society of Civil Engineers in September