With a water system that originated in the California Gold Rush, PCWA boasts a rich and colorful history. Early canals and reservoirs have become part of a modern water supply system that is meeting the needs of the 21st Century.
Here is a brief overview of water system developments that have become part of today's PCWA:
| Early 1850's |
First mining ditches are built
in the county. |
| 1890's |
Transition of canal system from
mining to fruit growing. |
| 1940's |
Local communities fear loss of water to downstream interests.
Several water studies are conducted. |
| 1948 |
Board of Supervisors authorizes
upper American River water project. |
| 1957 |
Placer County Water Agency Act
signed July 3rd by Governor Goodwin J. Knight. (County supervisors
serve as the PCWA Board of Directors until 1975.) |
| 1961 |
County voters approve by a 25-1
margin a $140 million bond issue to build the Middle Fork
American River hydroelectric project. |
| 1962 |
PCWA and the United States Bureau
of Reclamation reach an agreement to resolve water rights
dispute between PCWA's proposed Middle Fork Project and the
Bureau of Reclamation's proposed Auburn Dam. PCWA is granted
120,000 acre feet annually of water rights from the Middle
and North Forks of the American River. |
| 1963 |
Construction begins on the Middle
Fork Project. |
| 1967 |
The Middle Fork American River
Hydroelectric Project is completed at a cost of $115 million.
It included the American River Pump Station at Auburn and
the Auburn Ravine Tunnel to deliver project water to Western
Placer County. |
| 1968 |
PCWA is asked to purchase the
South Placer Water System from PG&E for $1.2 million.
Zone 1 is formed. |
| 1970 |
PCWA enters into an agreement
with the Bureau of Reclamation for 117,000 acre feet annually
of Central Valley Project (CVP) water to be delivered by gravity
from the proposed Auburn Dam. |
| 1972 |
The United States Bureau of Reclamation
reaches an agreement with PCWA to remove the American River
Pump Station and acquire the land for the purpose of constructing
the Auburn Dam. United States Bureau of Reclamation agreed
to provide water to PCWA, if needed, until the Auburn Dam
is completed. |
| 1975 |
On January 1, PCWA's first independently
elected Board of Directors takes office and assumes governance
responsibilities from the Board of Supervisors. |
| 1976 |
United States Bureau of Reclamation
installed the first temporary pump station to deliver PCWA
water. |
| 1979 |
At the request of residents, PCWA
assumes ownership and operation of the well and water system
serving Bianchi Estates, southwest of Roseville. Service Zone
2 is established. |
| 1984 |
PCWA is asked to purchase the
Upper Placer Water System, Alta to North Auburn, from PG&E
for $512,000. Zone 3 is formed. |
| 1994 |
On August 15, PCWA opens the doors
to its new Business Center at 144 Ferguson Road in Auburn.
The water agency now has a complete facility where a range
of customer services is offered. Cost of the project is $2.5
million. |
| 1996 |
PCWA is asked to supply water
in the Martis Valley, its first water supply involvement in
eastern Placer County. Zone 4 is formed. |
| 2001 |
PCWA completes design for a permanent pump station on the American River. |
| 2003 |
PCWA is asked to form Zone 5 to
provide a reliable supply of irrigation water to commercial
agriculture. |
| 2003 |
PCWA and other agencies begin initial
environmental studies in a long-term effort to divert water
from the Sacramento River to serve parts of Sacramento County
and western Placer County. |
| 2003 |
In October, the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation begins construction of the PCWA American River
Pump Station. When complete, the pumps will supply up to 35,500
acre-feet of water to western Placer County. |
| 2006 |
In a special meeting held January
10, the PCWA Board of Directors and Placer County Board of
Supervisors establish the Middle Fork Project Finance Authority,
a joint powers agreement to help finance the federal relicensing
of the PCWA Middle Fork Project American River Hydroelectric
Project. |
| 2007 |
On Sept. 4, 2007, the old Auburn Dam tunnel is closed and after 35 years the American River is returned to its natural channel. The river restoration has been completed along with construction of the PCWA American River Pump Station, scheduled for full operation in 2008. |
| 2007 |
On Sept. 13, PCWA commemorates its Golden Anniversary. The agency was formed on Sept. 11, 1957, ninety days after the Placer County Water Agency Act was signed by Gov. Goodwin J. Knight. The 50th Anniversary celebration attracted more than 120 citizens, many of whom had been active in the agency’s formation and development. |
| 2007 |
PCWA releases a book that tells its story. A Heritage of Water: The Golden Anniversary of the Placer County Water Agency, 1957-2007, is an illustrated, 88-page book prepared for the agency by the Water Education Foundation. Copies are available through the water agency. |
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