Eastern Municipal Water District

BUILDING
THE FUTURE
The Story of the
Eastern Municipal Water District
In Commemoration of its 50th Anniversary:
1950 - 2000
Dedicated to those whose vision saw the need,
whose determination made it happen, and
whose sweat keeps it running:
the men and women of Eastern Municipal Water
District—employed and elected, past and
present—whose story is told in this program….
April 8, 1933
Work begins on the San Jacinto Tunnel,
the key link in the Colorado River Aqueduct
MWD’s Colorado River
Aqueduct snakes its way
across the desert
Conditions were hot and humid
during the construction of the
San Jacinto Tunnel
The Early Hours of July 1, 1934
Without warning, thousands of gallons of
water suddenly burst into the tunnel
The men scrambled to the shaft to
escape, and watched in amazement as
the water filled the tunnel and rose
nearly 700 feet up the vertical shaft
The flow was estimated at nearly 8,000
gallons per minute
1933 - 1939
The amount of water coming out of the
tunnel varied during the construction years
but never dropped below 540 gallons per
minute, and was often much higher—
sometimes topping 30,000
gallons per minute
Water gushes in at a breakthrough during construction of
the San Jacinto Tunnel in the
1930s
1944
The San Jacinto River Protective Committee
is formed, and reports that the tunnel
seepage is enough water to irrigate 3,500
to 4,000 acres each year
The San Jacinto River Protective Committee
makes two demands on the Metropolitan
Water District:
Stop all seepage into the San Jacinto Tunnel
— Then estimated at 4,000 gallons per
minute
Return the estimated 150,000 acre-feet of
water that had been carried away since 1934
1945 - 1946
Only 6.4 inches of rain fell in Hemet
Though there were some individual wet years,
the general dry cycle continued through the
end of the 1940s
Dry weather plagued the region for
many years, as this photo looking
northward along the San Jacinto River
on Fairview Avenue in Hemet
illustrates
1945 - 1946
Well levels dropped as more and more of
the underground water
supply was being
pumped out—
Creeks and streams dried
up in hot weather
Thirsty citrus groves like this
one at the corner of Fairview
and Stetson desperately
needed imported water
1946
The San Jacinto River Conservation District is
formed to continue negotiations with Metropolitan
Water District for the tunnel seepage
1949
The San Jacinto River Conservation District
announced the need to import 16,000 acre-feet
per year to cover groundwater overdraft
The one logical source was the Colorado River
water available through Metropolitan Water District
April 14, 1950
The San Jacinto River Conservation District
and the Metropolitan Water District reach a
tentative agreement
One of EMWD’s
earliest wells, near
the intersection of
Sanderson and the
Ramona Expressway,
was used to return
San Jacinto Tunnel
seepage water to the
valley, c. 1952
Metropolitan Water District agreed to:
9annex a local municipal water district
9give them full rights to all the seepage water
in the San Jacinto tunnel at no cost
9provide the district with three connections to
the Colorado River Aqueduct
9pay for the construction of one of those
connections
9give the new district $250,000 for
construction costs
September 26, 1950
A special election is held on the formation of
the new municipal water district
Voter turnout is a remarkable 62 percent—
The creation of the new municipal water
district is approved by a vote of 4,107 to 80
October 16, 1950
The election results were certified by the
county board of supervisors, and ...
Eastern Municipal Water District
was officially incorporated
July 20, 1951
Eastern officially became a member of the
Metropolitan Water District
1951
First water
deliveries
A temporary connection
to the Colorado River
Aqueduct allowed
EMWD to make its first
water deliveries to the
Brownlands area. Irwin
Farrar and Doyle Boen
stand on top, while
Arthur Messelheiser
and W.M. Kolb are
down in the trench
1953
Perris became the first city in Riverside County
to be served by Colorado River water
The first water
deliveries to Perris,
June 1953
1953, South Perris Valley Pipeline
Eastern was the first in the water industry to
install pipe with bell and spigot joints
This new method of joining pipes allows pipes
to flex with earth movement, and is much
faster to assemble than older methods
Modified several times, this method was
eventually adopted throughout the water
industry, and is now used all over the world
1953
Eastern was one of the first agencies in
California to put the improvement district
concept into practical use
The Diamond Valley area was the first to take
advantage of Eastern’s improvement district
program
Diamond Valley residents gather to mark the
completion of the district’s first improvement district
project, 1954
Diamond Valley, 1955
1953 to 1960
By the end of the 1950s, Eastern had formed
11 improvement districts and added 168,000
acres to the district through annexation
A portion of the
Moreno Valley in the
early 1950s within
EMWD’s ID-3
1953 to 1960
The Redlands tank,
Moreno Valley, 1957
Field superintendent Don Davidson
and Harvey Cottrell set a temporary
pump into position at Fairview and
Acacia in Valle Vista, 1956
1953 to 1960
Clowning for the camera as
EMWD water reaches the
Homeland/Green Acres area
(ID-2) in 1956; James Baker,
Ed Blankenship, Lottie
Belleville, and Mrs. Donald
Chapman watch as Wesley
Bricker leans into the spray
1953 to 1960
Here, Mrs. Donald
Chapman applies for
water service in ID-2 in
the Homeland area back
in the 1950s,
commenting, “This is
one of the happiest
moments of my life”
1953 to 1960
The Citizen’s Advisory Committee for ID-4 (from left,
Lloyd Wilson, Archie Washburn, Fay Gillette, Charles Gilbert,
and chairman Dave Kelley) examines the plans for the new
water system near the mouth of Bautista Canyon, 1955
1953 to 1960
Gilman Hot Springs, 1954
Water arrives in Quail
Valley, 1958. Joining Doyle
Boen (right) for the
celebration are Charles
Cooper, Ray Beltzner and
Andrew Millar
1953 to 1960
Blasting and moving rocks
to bring Colorado River
water to Good Hope, 1959
Residents witness the initial
delivery of water to
Winchester, 1960
Since 1953, Eastern’s director Floyd Bonge
and general manager Doyle Boen had served
on the National Reclamation Association’s
Small Projects Committee
EMWD General Manager
Doyle Boen and other
members of the Small
Projects Committee,
Washington, D.C.
They repeatedly traveled to Washington to
testify before Congress, meet with legislators,
and discuss strategy with Bureau of
Reclamation officials
EMWD General Manager
Doyle Boen and other
members of the Small
Projects Committee,
Washington, D.C.
The federal Small Projects Act was signed into
law by President Eisenhower in 1956—
1960
EMWD became the first municipality to receive
a loan under the Small Projects Act
EMWD General Manager
Doyle Boen and other
members of the Small
Projects Committee,
Washington, D.C.
1960s
The Chambers tank under
construction to serve the Perris
and Sun City areas
1962
Eastern develops a long-range plan for
sanitation needs within the district
The master plan
was designed to
cover the next 25
to 30 years of
development in
the area
Coming into
Sun City in the
mid-1960s
1965
The district’s first permanent
treatment plant under construction,
Sun City
1960s through the 1980s
Over 120,000 acres were annexed to the
Eastern Municipal Water District. By 1980 the
district had established its general boundaries
as they exist today
Most of Eastern’s new service connections
over the last 20 years have been for new
construction—
Gone are the days of racing failing wells to
provide drinking water to existing communities
1960s through the 1980s
The completion of the State Water Project in
1973 brought northern California water to
western Riverside County
Governor Ronald Reagan
delivers the first State Project
water for Lake Perris, at the
1973 dedication ceremony. It
was actual Feather River water
that had been shipped in the
canteen shown, and delivered
to the ceremony by EMWD’s
Ben Mapes on horseback
1981
Construction began on the first phase of the
district’s Northern California Integration
Project. This was Eastern’s most ambitious
project since the original
distribution system was
designed in 1952
Local voters approved a
$17.7 million Small Projects
Act loan to begin connecting
Eastern’s system to the
State Water Project in 1980
1980s and 1990s
Recent decades have brought a change in how
we look at water in California
Water is now viewed
Spreading water on the San
as a resource to be
Jacinto riverbed, 1997
conserved and managed
Eastern’s 450 MG
recycled water
storage ponds
near Winchester
hold and distribute
water produced
at Temecula
1980s and 1990s
Besides groundwater recharge and agricultural
irrigation, recycled water is also commonly
used for landscape
irrigation and other
beneficial use
Recycled water is an
asset, and must be
managed accordingly
The district’s Wetlands Water Education Facility affords an
excellent location for groups of school children to learn
about wastewater treatment and recycled water, water
conservation, and environmental issues
The District Today
In the 50 years since the creation of Eastern
Municipal Water District, western Riverside
County has changed significantly, and Eastern
has changed with it
The Operations and
Maintenance Center
at Perris was opened
in May, 1995
The District Today
Three-quarters of Eastern’s fresh water
supplies come from northern California and
the Colorado River, via the Metropolitan Water
District. The remaining fresh water comes
from wells scattered throughout the district.
The first desalter and several new wells are
slated for completion by the year 2001, and
Eastern hopes to eventually bring its reliance
on imported water down from approximately
75 percent to 65 percent or less
The District Today
Laboratory technician Denise
Gierhart works in EMWD’s modern
water quality laboratory which
conducts thousands of test
procedures each month to ensure
that water quality remains high, and
that wastewater discharges meet
federal and state requirements
The District Today
In early 2000, Eastern announced plans for
over $170 million worth of infrastructure
improvements over the next five to seven
years. The district has identified 42 major
water and wastewater improvement projects
to meet projected
growth and
infrastructure needs
EMWD’s current
headquarters complex
The District Today
Increasing costs of water and energy, as well
as rigorous environmental and public health
standards, require further automation to
control costs, increase efficiency, and
ensure reliability
Jean Cortez and
Mike Espejo staff
the console in the
district’s new
Integrated
Operations Center,
mid-year 2000
The District Today
Fifty years after its founding, Eastern remains
the only source of supplemental water for our
arid region—water that is needed, not
to make the area
grow, but because
the area is growing
Eastern’s present
Administrative Center,
dedicated in 1998
Proud of our past,
Ready for our future