Volume 1. - Yuma, Colorado, Saturday, January 1, 1887 - Number 2
Pure, sweet and wholesome water is found in every nook of Weld county (present day Yuma County), and is obtained at a depth from sixteen to thirty feet in the valleys. On the high uplands the wells are deeper, having an average depth of one hundred and fifty feet. Water never fails here, but at all times furnishes an abundant supply. It is wholly free from unhealthy properties, such as alkali and limestone deposits. A fine building stone is found in various portions of the county, which lies near the surface and is obtainable without any costly or laborious quarrying.
Yuma Album of Action on the Plains In 1889 the Town of Yuma voted $10,000 of water bonds to erect a steam-pumping plant just east of the present stand-pipe. There were two slender Corliss-type steam pumps and a very large wooden storage tank. Windmill power was used for a time. Some of the town's people carried or hauled water from the railroad tank. Yuma Museum Saving the Past for the Future 1994
In 1911 a new water system costing $7,000 was approved and a standpipe costing $3,976 was purchased. (Henry C. Hoch was mayor)