Orchards were planted close to natural water supplies - especially along Rapid Creek east of Palisade and near Kannah Creek in Whitewater. Until the irrigation canals were constructed, water was hauled from the River in wagons. The first canal built was the Grand Valley Canal, but it did not serve the rich agricultural land in Palisade. The first canals which served Palisade orchards were the Stub and Price Ditches. When the Grand River Diversion Dam and Government Highline Canal began operating in 1915, the Price and Stub Ditch water rights were consolidated. Later, the two Orchard Mesa canals also became part of the Grand Valley Project supplied by the iconic "Roller Dam" seven miles east of Palisade in DeBeque Canyon. The Government Highline Canal supplies water through the Grand Valley reaching Loma, near the Utah border.