Timeline of Water System and Population in Ann Arbor
Revised 1998
- 1824 John Alan and Elisha
Walker Rumsey plot the town of "Ann Arbour"
- 1827 500 persons--several
small dams, grist mills and saw mills.
- 1829 Argo dam built. The Argo
dam raceway served 3 mills. (900 persons)
- 1837 U of M comes to town
(from Detroit) Ann
Arbor using central well soon after
- 1839 Michigan Central
Railroad reaches Ann Arbor
(3,500 persons)
- 1850 Several persons active
in underground railroad (4,500 persons)
- 1860 Civil War took place
(5,100 persons)
- 1878 Ann Arbor Railroad gets
to town (7,360 persons; growth in spite of the war)
- 1884 Electricity generated at
Geddes dam. Used only for lighting. (8,060 persons)
- 1885 Ann Arbor Water Company
gets contract to supply water for the whole city
- 1894 Extensive sewer
system--emptied directly into the Huron
River. (14,500 people)
- 1905 Detroit Edison buys Argo
and Geddes dams to generate electricity
- 1912 Barton Dam built--To
provide electricity and water supply
- 1914 Ann Arbor takes over the
water company and runs it itself (19,500 people)
- 1935 Construction of Water
Treatment Plant. (Operating by 1938)
- 1937 Waste water treatment
plant operational (WPA project) (39,700 people)
- 1962 Stopped generating
electricity at local dams. (67,600 people)
- 1970 Environmental teach-in
(99,900 people)
- 1974 Addition filter built at
the Water Treatment Plant
- 1978 Tertiary treatment at
Waste Water Treatment Plant
- 1983 Reestablished
hydro-electric capacity at Barton dam (108,000 people)
- 1996 Ozone treatment built to
comply with lower chlorine regulations
- 1996 Ann Arbor Water
Treatment Plant wins the "Best tasting water award" in Michigan.
(130,000 people?)