In 1963, the Palmdale Irrigation District entered into an agreement to purchase water from the newly planned State Water Project (also known as the California Aqueduct). This agreement guaranteed the district would have suffecient alternative source water to supply projected population growth well into its future.

PID Building 1963	State Water Project ceremony	Signing 1963 agreement

To contain the increased water supply, bonds were sold to rebuild and expand Palmdale Lake (formerly known as Harold Reservoir) to an increased capacity of over 4,100 acre feet. This bond financing also allowed the construction of a new treament facility adjacent to the Lake. As a result, this new water supply enabled the Palmdale Irrigation District to service an broader area of Palmdale.

It was decided in 1973, that the Palmdale Irrigation District name should be changed to the more appropriate Palmdale Water District. Founded as an Irrigation District supplying water mainly to farms for agricultural use, the districts boundries had expanded with Palmdale’s rapid population growth and the District shifted to providing predominantly municiple and industrial water.

Expanding Palmdale Lake	Palmdale Lake Outlet	Lake Outlet Structure

On Site Palmdale Lake	On Site Palmdale Lake	Original lake treament facility

To put this substantial growth in perspective, from 1965 to 1985, water production grew from 4,100-acre feet per year to over 8,000-acre feet per year and more than doubled in the five years after that. (text over visual “An acre- foot of water is equal to the amount of water that will cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot or as much as one family consumes in and around their home in one year!”) To keep up with demand, in 1987 the District constructed a water treatment plant that would process 12 million gallons of water per day . Later that year, after years of study, Palmdale Water District and Littlerock Creek Irrigation started planning new renovations of the Littlerock Dam.

Palmdale looking north	Freeway Construction	New Palmdale High School

As Palmdale’s population continued to grow, it was determined that the water treatment plant built in ‘87 would not support Palmdale’s future water usage needs. An expansion of the facilty was determined necessary and was completed in 1993 increasing the District’s production capacity from 12 million to 30 million gallons of water per day.

Following extensive environmental and design work, finally in 1993 the Palmdale Water District and Littlerock Creek Irrigation District began to rehabilitate the dam in three phases. The first phase involved reinforcing the original multiple-arch construction with a roller-compacted concrete buttress. At the same time, the original dam was raised 12 feet, which thereby doubled the reservoir's capacity.

3,000,000 gallon storage	1991 Treatment Plant	Dam reconstruction 1993

The second phase of construction provided new recreational facilities around the reservoir. Dedication ceremonies were held June 23, 1995, marking the re-opening of the Littlerock Dam area, which had remained closed during the renovation construction process. The final phase of construction included replacing the historic wooden trestle with an underground siphon, which was completed shortly thereafter.

From 1995 to 2000 The Palmdale Water District continued to improve and add to its water distribution and storage facilities. The Palmdale Water District’s primary service now covered over 35 square miles versus 4,500 acres in 1918. In 2000 the distribution system had grown to over 345 miles of pipeline, multiple well sites, booster pumping stations, and water storage tanks maintaining a total storage capacity of over 40 million gallons.

Dam reconstruction 1993	California Aquaduct	Palmdale Lake Wind Turbine

As you can see, we’ve come a long way from the days of wooden water pipes and earthen ditches . The Palmdale Water District remains dedicated to providing clean, pure water; state of the art facilities to meet current and future needs; attentive staff committed to customer satisfaction; treatment and testing to ensure high quality water; education on water conservation and safety; and reliable supply and resourceful planning insuring customer satistafaction and continued reasonable rates.

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