Education / Water Festival

A local newspaper, Grand Junction Free Press, has also created a photo album of our 15th Annual Children's Water Festival for the public to view, post and make comments on.

Click Here To View The Grand Junction Free Press's Photo Album.

The Water Festival Committee would like to recognize and thank the following individuals and organizations for their much appreciated participation in this year’s water festival.

Produced by: City of Grand Junction , Clifton Water District and Ute Water Conservancy District.

Presenters: 5-2-1 Drainage Authority, Applegate Group Inc., Bureau of Reclamation, Chevron, City of Grand Junction, Clifton Water District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado River District, Colorado State University Extension, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Corps of Engineers, Drought Response Information Project (DRIP), Fruita Public Works, Grand Junction Fire Department, Grand Valley Drainage District, Grand Valley Irrigation, Kleinfelder, Mesa County Cattle Women’s Association, Mesa County Health Department, National Weather Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Palisade Fire Department, S&K Aerospace, Inc., Thunder Mountain Elementary, Town of Palisade, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S.G.S. and Ute Water Conservancy District.

Sponsorship by: Dufford, Waldeck, Milburn & Krohn, LLP., FCI Constructors Inc., Fruita City Market, Grand Junction Pipe & Supply, Grand Junction Winwater, Grand Valley Water Users Association, Hoskin, Farina & Kampf, Professional Corporation, Mesa Conservation District, Palisades National Bank, Plains Exploration & Production Company, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Sun King Management Corporation, Western Rockies Federal Credit Union, Westwater Engineering Inc. and Williams, Turner & Holmes, P.C.

Underwritten by: Allied Insurance, Alpine Bank, Applegate Group Inc., Boyle Engineering│AECOM, Carollo Engineering, Chick-Fil-A, Colorado Beef Council, First Student, GEI Consultants Inc., Good Times, Grand Junction Free Press, Grand Valley Drainage District, Home Loan & Investment, Kleinfelder West Inc., Mesa County Cattle Women’s Association, Mesa County School District 51, Mesa State College, RJH Consultants Inc., Rocky Mountain Sanitation LLC., TCB│AECOM, Toby’s Anchor Drilling and Xcel Energy.

The Children's Water Festival is made possible with the help of more than 260 volunteers, who present classes and exhibits, guide classes around the campus and work behind the scenes to make this annual festival a success.

For more information on the Children's Water Festival you can contact Joe Burtard at (970) 242-7491.


Thank you to IMPACT Promotional Products for the donation of our new logo!
The Annual Children’s Water Festival was started 15 years ago by Ute Water Conservancy District, to expose School District 51 fifth graders to all facets of water: conservation, protection, pollution control, provision and treatment. The festival is now produced by three of the Grand Valley ’s domestic water providers; Ute Water, the City of Grand Junction and Clifton Water. Each year nearly 2,000 fifth grade students arrive at Mesa State College to learn about the importance of water in the world, the state, the community and their individual lives. Public, private, and home schooled students are invited to attend one day of the two day festival. Our festival is the second-largest attended out of 20 communities who produce water festivals in the state of Colorado . The entire festival is run by volunteers from numerous agencies, businesses, service clubs and private parties throughout the state. The original idea of a water festival came from the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation and was brought to Colorado by Tom Cech of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District. The Groundwater Foundation produces a week-long festival in Grand Island and attracts more than 3,000 students. The entire festival is funded by donations from the business community. Our festival costs approximately $10,000 to produce each year and is funded in part by private enterprise. Without the generous sponsorship and donations from the community this event would not be possible. A Water Festival Committee, comprised of a variety of local organization and business representatives, was developed to help organize, plan and promote the festival. Preparation for the event starts in early December and is concluded toward the middle of June each year. There are several opportunities for people who are interested in participating, volunteering or being a sponsor at the Water Festival. For additional information on how you can get involved please contact Joe Burtard, Water Festival Coordinator. For your convenience you can now register online or print off any of the registration forms. Click on the links below to register or print of your desired registration form. School District 51 Fifth Grade Standards 2008 Presenter Registration 2008 Guide/Volunteer Registration 2008 Teacher Registration 2008 Sponsorship/Donation Form 2008 Water Festival Program Click Here To View Water Festival Pictures! A local newspaper, Grand Junction Free Press, has also created a photo album of our 15th Annual Children's Water Festival for the public to view, post and make comments on. Click Here To View The Grand Junction Free Press's Photo Album. The Water Festival Committee would like to recognize and thank the following individuals and organizations for their much appreciated participation in this year’s water festival. Produced by: City of Grand Junction , Clifton Water District and Ute Water Conservancy District. Presenters: 5-2-1 Drainage Authority, Applegate Group Inc., Bureau of Reclamation, Chevron, City of Grand Junction, Clifton Water District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado River District, Colorado State University Extension, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Corps of Engineers, Drought Response Information Project (DRIP), Fruita Public Works, Grand Junction Fire Department, Grand Valley Drainage District, Grand Valley Irrigation, Kleinfelder, Mesa County Cattle Women’s Association, Mesa County Health Department, National Weather Service, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Palisade Fire Department, S&K Aerospace, Inc., Thunder Mountain Elementary, Town of Palisade, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S.G.S. and Ute Water Conservancy District. Sponsorship by: Dufford, Waldeck, Milburn & Krohn, LLP., FCI Constructors Inc., Fruita City Market, Grand Junction Pipe & Supply, Grand Junction Winwater, Grand Valley Water Users Association, Hoskin, Farina & Kampf, Professional Corporation, Mesa Conservation District, Palisades National Bank, Plains Exploration & Production Company, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Sun King Management Corporation, Western Rockies Federal Credit Union, Westwater Engineering Inc. and Williams, Turner & Holmes, P.C. Underwritten by: Allied Insurance, Alpine Bank, Applegate Group Inc., Boyle Engineering│AECOM, Carollo Engineering, Chick-Fil-A, Colorado Beef Council, First Student, GEI Consultants Inc., Good Times, Grand Junction Free Press, Grand Valley Drainage District, Home Loan & Investment, Kleinfelder West Inc., Mesa County Cattle Women’s Association, Mesa County School District 51, Mesa State College, RJH Consultants Inc., Rocky Mountain Sanitation LLC., TCB│AECOM, Toby’s Anchor Drilling and Xcel Energy. The Children's Water Festival is made possible with the help of more than 260 volunteers, who present classes and exhibits, guide classes around the campus and work behind the scenes to make this annual festival a success. For more information on the Children's Water Festival you can contact Joe Burtard at (970) 242-7491.	Water Festival Committee Joe Burtard (Coordinator)-Ute Water Berna Brown (Co-Coordinator)-Ute Water Michelle Will (Co-Coordinator)-Ute Water Phil Bertrand - Grand Valley Irrigation Company Slade Connell - City of Grand Junction Dan Crabtree - Bureau of Reclamation Dean Goebel - Mesa County Health Department Justyn Hock - Bureau of Reclamation Jo Holcomb - City of Grand Junction Jacque Stafford - Ute Water Conservancy District Andy Laase - Mesa County School District 51 Paula Nichols - Mesa State College David Payne - Ute Water Conservancy District Butch Reed - N.R.C.S Jo Ann Sauvage - Ute Water Conservancy District Toby's Anchor Drilling Clifton Water District City of Grand Junction Ute Water