History of SCV Water

History of SCV Water

Our History

Formed in 2018, SCV Water is home to three water divisions: Newhall Water Division, Santa Clarita Water Division, Valencia Water Division, as well as Castaic Lake Water Agency, the regional water wholesaler. Though the founding of our agency was recent, our history in the area stretches back decades. We invite you to explore the history of SCV Water.

Castaic Lake Water Agency

In 1960, voters approved the California State Water Project (SWP) to import water to Central and Southern California, including construction of the necessary treatment and conveyance facilities to treat and deliver this water.

On April 20, 1962, the Upper Santa Clara Valley Water Agency (Agency) was formed by passage of Assembly Bill No. 26, Chapter 28, California Statutes of 1962. The Agency contracted with the State of California for delivery of a portion of the water to be brought from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta through the State Water Resources Development System.

On April 30, 1963, the Agency entered into an agreement with the State acting by and through its Department of Water Resources for an original contract amount of 41,500 acre-feet (AF) of water per year (AFY) from the System. Through additional purchases and acquisitions, the Agency increased its SWP contract amount to 95,200 acre-feet per year.

In 1970, the name of the Upper Santa Clara Valley Water Agency was changed to the Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA). And in 1980, CLWA began delivering SWP water to the Santa Clarita Valley.

In 1973, the Bouquet Water Company and the Solemint Water Company merged to form the Santa Clarita Water Company. And In 1999, Castaic Lake Water Agency, which had previously provided imported water, acquired the stock of the company and created the Santa Clarita Water Division to provide water service to retail customers.

In 2012, CLWA purchased stock of the Valencia Water Company. VWC operated as a separate corporate entity, providing water service to retail customers.

Newhall Water Division

Although Newhall County Water District was created in 1953, our roots trace back to the early 1900s with our predecessor company, Newhall Water System.

According to historical documents, Newhall Water System was established in 1913. Two men – H. Clay Needham and M.W. Atwood – shared a partnership of the mostly agricultural water system. In 1919, with a population in the Santa Clarita Valley at 600, Arthur B. “Perk” Perkins became the general manager of the new company. A year later, he bought the company, which served about 125 customers.

Needham, however, continued to be involved with the company until his death in 1936, providing financial support over the years. In 1924, Perkins received additional financial support from his mother-and father-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. J.D. O’Brien of Nevada, who purchased half of his vested interest. Their daughter and Perk’s wife, Marguerite, were included in this partnership.

On June 1, 1930, the small water company became a corporation when Perk, his wife, and the O’Briens sold their entire interest to the newly created Newhall Water Company.

The company supplied its 300 customer with water from six wells. The oldest, drilled in 1909, was capable of delivering 45 gallons per minute. A 360,000 gallon redwood tank located 250 feet above Newhall’s mercantile district served as the only means for water storage.

By 1931, Perk, who was still general manager, was earning approximately $150 per month. After nearly 30 years, he stepped down from his post in 1948. H.W. Dreher assumed his position, but Perk continued as a principal officer.

In the early 1950s, with the population of 3,500, local business and civic leaders in Newhall decided it was in the public’s interest to form a community water district to support the growing population.

After considerable scrutiny, the issue was put in the hands of voters. On Jan. 13, 1953, an election was held to form the Newhall County Water District, which would be owned by the public and run by a board of directors elected by voters. Although there was no such place as “Newhall County,” the name stuck.

Voters elected five governing board members and, later that year, authorized the newly formed water district to issue revenue bonds in the amount of $425,000. A.B.Perkins signed the documents in 1953 finalizing the sale of the Newhall Water Company to Newhall County Water District for $130,000. The remaining bond money was used for rehabilitation and expansion of the newly purchased supply and delivery system with $20,000 set aside for reserves. In 1966, Castaic and Pinetree (Canyon Country) were incorporated into the district. To serve its growing customers, the district used groundwater pumped from wells with supplemented supplies from State Water Project purchased by Castaic Lake Water Agency.

During the next several decades, as Santa Clarita Valley’s population grew, so too, did the water agency. In the early 2000’s, the Tesoro del Valle area was added to Newhall County Water District’s service area.

In 2003, we celebrated our 50-year anniversary as a county water district. Today, our operations include 10 wells with a combined production of 9,675 gallons per minute, four connections to State Water Project, 15 booster stations and 23 steel reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 25.56 million gallons.

Since our early years, we have grown with the Santa Clarita Valley, building and maintaining a program to continuously provide customers with high-quality water at low cost.

Santa Clarita Water Division

The Santa Clarita Water Division was the second largest water retailer in the Santa Clarita Valley. A leader in customer service, Santa Clarita Water Division operates a service area of approximately 32 square miles in northern Los Angeles County that includes a portion of the City of Santa Clarita and unincorporated County areas in the communities of Saugus, Canyon Country and Newhall. Water is supplied from both groundwater and imported water to over 28,000 service connections.

A proud innovator in the constantly changing world of water supply, Santa Clarita Water Division operates and maintains a reliable and technologically advanced infrastructure of approximately 300 miles of existing pipeline, 48 water tanks containing nearly 74 million gallons of storage capacity, 29 pump stations and 15 groundwater production wells. We encourage our customers to do their part to ensure a reliable water resource by conserving water throughout their homes and workplace throughout the year.

The history of Santa Clarita Water Division dates back to 1973, when the Santa Clarita Water Company was formed as the result of the merger between the Bouquet Water Company and Solemint Water Company. In 1999, Castaic Lake Water Agency acquired the stock of the Company, and created Santa Clarita Water Division to provide retail water service as a public agency.

Valencia Water Company

Valencia Water Company was incorporated on April 7, 1954, in the state of California. Valencia Water Company provides potable water service to approximately 31,000 customers within an area encompassing a portion of the incorporated City of Santa Clarita and within the surrounding unincorporated communities of Castaic, Newhall, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch and Valencia in northern Los Angeles County.

They joined Newhall County Water District, Castaic Lake Water Agency and Santa Clarita Water Division in 2018 to become SCV Water.