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History of Santa Clarita Valley and the Formation of Castaic Lake Water Agency

Rich in Old West history, the Santa Clarita Valley boasts tales of Native American tribes,
Spanish soldiers and Mexican bandits, gold discovery and oil strikes, railroads and ranches, a
horrible dam failure, and cowboy movie stars. Today, the Santa Clarita Valley is a fast growing
and vibrant community.

Now, as in the beginning, the fundamental key to growth is a stable water supply. While the
Santa Clara River historically provided alluvial groundwater for agriculture and livestock, this
source could not provide a year round supply. At the turn of the twentieth century, the area’s
needs were met with the advent of the deep-well turbine pump.

While the area remained primarily agricultural through the 1950’s, the local communities
secured additional water for municipal growth. In 1960, voters approved the California State
Water Project (SWP) to import water to Southern California. In 1980, the Castaic Lake Water
Agency (CLWA) commenced delivering SWP water to the Valley. CLWA purchases SWP water
from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and treats SWP and other imported water at
the Earl Schmidt Filtration Plant and the Rio Vista Water Treatment Plant. As a wholesaler
within the Santa Clarita Valley, CLWA sells treated water to four retail water purveyors within
the Santa Clarita Valley. The four retail water purveyors are Los Angeles County Waterworks
District No. 36, Newhall County Water District (NCWD), Santa Clarita Water Division and
Valencia Water Company (VWC).

Aerial photo of the California Aqueduct at the Interstate 205 crossing
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com

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