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Our History
The history of this area that caused Watermaster to be established is our backstory. Highlights of that backstory are:
Beginning in the 1940s–50s: Rapid Growth
The San Gabriel Valley experienced a period of rapid urbanization, which led to increased water demand and draws from the Main San Gabriel Basin. By the 1950’s, the ensuing rise in water consumption — along with an extended period of drought — had put the Basin into a state of overdraft, where water production from the Basin exceeded the amount that could be replaced.
1950s–1960s: Implementing Initial Court Decision and Increased Concerns
For several years the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (Upper District) administered and took responsibility for the Upper Area's obligations to the Lower Area per the court decision. The Upper District could not, however, assert control over all producers in the Basin because the district boundaries do not encompass the entire Basin.
As a result of the decrease in available water supply, parties downstream of the Basin became especially concerned. These downstream water users rely on the Main San Gabriel Basin for a large portion of their natural water supply, as much of it comes from the Basin by way of outflow through Whittier Narrows. Legal action was initiated on behalf of the downstream users, resulting in a court decision which requires the Upper Area (Main San Gabriel Basin) users to guarantee a source of water to the Lower Area or downstream users.
1968–1973: Judgment Establishing Watermaster
At the request of producers, the Upper District filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California (Case #924128, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, Plaintiff, vs. City of Alhambra, et al., Defendants). The original complaint was filed on January 2, 1968, but was amended on August 14, 1970 to embrace the additional issue of surface water diversion rights. On January 4, 1973, after extensive negotiations, a stipulated Judgment in this case was entered. The Judgment defined the water rights of 190 original parties to the legal action. It created a new governing body (the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster) to bring all Basin producers under control of one governing body. And, it described a program to manage the Basin’s water.
1973–Present
Since the Judgment establishing Watermaster was originally entered, there have been subsequent amendments to it that extend and clarify Watermaster's role (view Amended Judgment here). For more information about our annual progress, please see our latest annual report.
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