Great Western Sugar Effluent Flume and Bridge
Larimer County
Constructed in 1926 and utilized until 1955, the Great Western Sugar Effluent Flume and Bridge are significant for their association with the industrial development, operation, and demise of the beet sugar factory in Fort Collins during the first half of the twentieth century. The flume drew massive amounts of water from the Cache la Poudre River and deposited huge volumes of effluent onto nearby lands and back into the river. Although most of the factory complex was demolished during the 1960s, the Effluent Flume and Bridge remain over the river.
GW Sugar Beet Effluent Flume and Bridge
Today these structures convey the story of not only beet sugar production, but also industrial waste disposal during the first half of the twentieth century. The public health concerns related to industrial pollution that arose in the late 1940s and early 1950s ultimately contributed to the Great Western Sugar Company’s decision to close the Fort Collins factory. The Effluent Flume and Bridge are good examples of the type, period, and method of construction of a suspension bridge and flume designed for the disposal of industrial wastes. The concrete towers were poured in place and the bridge and flume assembled on the site. These structures were not intended for public use, but were utilitarian and industrial in both purpose and character.