Jamestown– The Jamestown-Rio Vista Water & Sewer District held a ribbon cutting today for the Jamestown-Rio Vista Water Supply Project, in which a water line was installed from Joint Powers Water Treatment Plant in Green River to a new water plant in Jamestown.
The water lines and plant were needed to provide better water to the residents of Jamestown and Rio Vista. Jamestown had its own water plant, but it was antiquated.
The new plant provides the residents of Jamestown a reliable source of water.
“A woman I know here in Jamestown told me her water finally doesn’t taste like river water,” Rep. Stan Blake, D-Green River said.
Project Has Been in the Works for More than 15 Years
According to Kael Jasperson, Vice Chairman of the Jamestown- Rio Vista Water Board, this project has “been a long time coming”.
“We’ve been actively working on this project for 15 to 20 years,” Jasperson said.
Although the project has been in the works for 15 plus years, funding came through in 2015 with the help of Rep. Blake and Sen. John Hastert, D-Green River.
“These two guys are the key components,” Jasperson said of Blake and Hastert.
Getting the Funding
The Jamestown-Rio Vista Water and Sewer District had an outstanding loan with the state that was holding them back from receiving a loan for this project. Hastert was able to get the loan forgiven, which set the project in motion.
Blake worked to get a house bill passed in 2015 that funded multiple water projects across the state, including the Jamestown-Rio Vista Water Supply Project.
“It’s an honor to serve the residents of Jamestown,” Blake said.
Hastert agreed that the honor is his and that his hand in the project was a “constituent service”. He added that it took the water board, Sunrise Engineering, and the whole project team to get the water line and plant done.
The water supply project cost $6.4 million to construct. The Wyoming Water Development Commission provided 67 percent of the funding, while the other 33 percent came from a loan from the United States Department of Agriculture- Rural Development.
Opening the Door for Development
The new water plant site located in Jamestown is home to a 600,000 gallon water tank. There is also five miles of water transmission line.
The water line runs from Joint Powers Water Treatment Plant in Green River to the site in Jamestown. It also goes west reaching the Gaensslen Ranch, crossing underneath I-80.
“There’s no question it’s (the project) going to grow Jamestown,” Jasperson said. “You’ll see an explosion of development.”
Jasperson said that water in Jamestown is the key to development.
“I think you’ll start to see the Jamestown area blossom because of this,” he said.
