The history of Palmdale Water District (PWD) began in 1918 when a new dam was proposed for Little Rock Creek. Due to the cost, it was decided that a public irrigation district could best finance the project. The public voted to form the Palmdale Irrigation District (PWD’s predecessor), and it became officially established by a resolution signed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on July 22, 1918.
Exactly 100 years to the day it was established, PWD hosted a community celebration attended by dignitaries, including U.S. Congressman Steve Knight, California Assemblyman Tom Lackey and representatives for California Senator Scott Wilk and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and more than 600 community members. The celebration marked the important milestone of reaching 100 years and kick-started PWD’s second century of service.
The event featured family-friendly activities, including face-painting, a petting zoo, a photo booth, antique cars, a backhoe rodeo and a display of emergency vehicles. Attendees enjoyed free tacos and ice cream, and viewed historical posters and antiques highlighting each decade from 1918 through today.
The countdown to the celebration on July 22 began a year ago with various events and highlights, including researching and sharing PWD’s dynamic history with the community it serves. For the past year, monthly tours to the Littlerock Dam and Reservoir and the Leslie O. Carter Water Treatment Plant were attended by more than 100 people, who took advantage of the behind-the-scenes tours where they experienced the dam up close and learned about the intricate works of PWD’s state-of-the-art water treatment facility.
As PWD moved toward its centennial, it rebranded and replaced its 20-year-old logo with a more modern, sleek and easily identifiable version. The distinct gradient blue waterdrop with the “Century of Service” tagline was adopted.
To commemorate this special occasion, PWD published a history book and produced 12 short videos to document its vast and impressive history in the Antelope Valley. The book and videos, along with items from the past century donated by dignitaries and staff, are included in a time capsule that will be sealed for the next 100 years. The plaque on the time capsule asks future employees to open it in 2118 – Palmdale Water District’s 200th anniversary!
Looking back, PWD has grown exponentially from its early days in 1918 when 200 people received service to more than 115,000 individuals who live within its boundaries today. Throughout the century, PWD has undergone major changes to meet water demands. But one thing has never changed – the mission to provide high-quality water to current and future customers at a reasonable cost.
The Palmdale Irrigation District, which changed its name to Palmdale Water District in 1973, provided irrigation water for the agricultural community and built the Littlerock Dam with Littlerock Creek Irrigation District. The multiple-arch dam on Little Rock Creek was designed by engineer John S. Eastwood, who had previously designed nine dams in the U.S. and Canada. The Littlerock Dam became known as the biggest multi-arch dam in world when it was completed in 1924 following a two-year construction. But through the years, the dam’s integrity was questioned several times. A roller-compacted concrete structure was added to the dam in 1994, which brought it up to state-mandated regulations.
One hundred years later, the Littlerock Dam is still vital to the community it has loyally served. During the first third of 2018, the Littlerock Dam and Reservoir supplied 44 percent of PWD’s water source. The two other water sources are the State Water Project (California Aqueduct) at 13 percent and groundwater at 43 percent. To distribute water to its customers, PWD maintains 414 miles of pipeline ranging in size from 4” to 48” in diameter, and operates 23 active water wells, 15 booster pumping stations and 20 storage reservoirs with a total capacity of 52 million gallons of water.
Over the years, PWD has updated its facilities to ensure that it can continue to supply high-quality water to a growing community in the unincorporated northeastern part of Los Angeles County and most of the City of Palmdale. In 2009, the then 22-year-old water treatment plant was upgraded and expanded to allow up to 35 million gallons of water per day to be processed using a state-of-the-art Granulated Activated Carbon filtration system. The plant was named the Leslie O. Carter Water Treatment Plant in 2010 in honor of Les Carter who had served on the PWD Board of Directors from 1971-2004.
Today, there are two major projects underway that will take PWD into its second century of providing water services. The first is the Littlerock Reservoir Sediment Removal Project, which will increase the capacity of the Littlerock Dam and Reservoir by removing sediment so that the dam can return to its 1992 planned capacity of 3,500 acre-feet of water. As of today, it will take 7 to 12 years to remove the sediment and the continuing silt that builds up. The second project is the Palmdale Regional Groundwater Recharge and Recovery Project. This groundwater banking program will take a blend of recycled water and California Aqueduct water, and spread it over a 160-acre site. This comingled water will filter down through the ground where it will join the natural aquifer and later pumped for use.
“We have accomplished a lot in our first 100 years of history, despite droughts, the Depression and recessions,” said PWD General Manager Dennis D. LaMoreaux. “We are optimistic that our second century will be just as successful.”