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History
HISTORY
It is the mission of Westlands Water District to provide a timely, reliable and affordable water supply to its landowners and water users, and to provide drainage service to those lands that need it. To this end, Westlands is committed to the preservation of its federal contract, which includes water and drainage service, and to the acquisition of additional water necessary to meet the needs of its landowners and water users.
Westlands Water District was formed in 1952 under the California Water District Law, Division 13 of the California Water Code, for the purpose of furnishing irrigation water and drainage service to farmers within the District. The District has operated continuously since its formation and in 1965 was merged with the Westplains Water Storage District.
Irrigation Development on the West Side Prior to Formation of the District
Since pre-Columbian times, the Westlands area was known to be part of the uninhabitable Great California Desert. Creeks that ran off into the area provided only intermittent water, thus the only dependable source of moisture for crops was groundwater. California's first legislature started talking about the need for developing year-round irrigation water supplies for the San Joaquin Valley as early as 1850, but planning was limited to the east side. It was to be another 87 years before the Central Valley Project (CVP) would be started as the main source of supplemental water for the Valley and an additional 26 years before CVP facilities would bring surface water to the Westlands area.
At the turn of the century, about one of ten homesteaders in today's Westlands area had their own water well. Others hauled water from their neighbors or from the Southern Pacific's coaling station in Pleasant Valley. The first deep well on the west side was drilled just west of present-day Lemoore Naval Air Station by G.T. Willis in 1909. Standing water was at about 50 feet, but Willis went down 700-800 feet to get more water. He didn't get enough water to warrant further development of the well.
The first significant irrigation in the Westlands area began about 1915 with the drilling of deep wells by individual operators on large acreages. By 1922 about 33,000 acres of land in today's Westlands was under deep well irrigation. The greatest period of growth of irrigated acreage in the area began about 1936 and gained impetus during World War II.
By the mid-1940's west side wells were producing 1,000-1,100 gallons of water per minute, each well capable of taking care of about 150 acres of summer crops or about 300 acres of fall crops. Farm size ranged from about 1,265 acres on the north end of the present District to 4,275 in the District's midsection.
In 1942, the Westside Landowners Association was formed to urge and help finance studies of the feasibility of developing and constructing water supply systems to serve the west side. Their first project was to enter into a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation to investigate the possibility of supply surface water to westside lands from the CVP via Mendota Slough, through an offstream site at San Luis or some other means. Bureau studies revealed that the storage developed at Shasta and Friant Dams on the CVP would be sufficieint to provide a permanent water supply for the west side. It was evident that CVP storage facilities would have to be expanded if the west side was to be accommodated.
The District is Formed
In 1952 the owners of 400,000 acres of westside land petitioned the Fresno County Board of Supervisors for the formation of the water district. Among the
prime movers in the organizational effort were Jack O'Neill, Russell Giffen, Frank Diener, Harry Baker and Louis Robinson. Following an election by the landowners involved, the Board of Supervisors declared Westlands Water District formed on September 8, 1952.
Water Service Contract Signed
On June 5, 1963 Westlands Water District entered into a long-term water service contract with the federal government providing for surface water delivery over a period of 40 years to supplement the groundwater supply. The water was to cost no more than $7.50 per acre-foot canalside. The contract also provided for the District's payment of an additional charge of $.50 per acre-foot of water delivered for drainage service.
In 1963, one lateral was under construction in the District. It was designed to bring water from the Fresno Slough along Adams Avenue to the San Luis Canal alignment area. Farmers who had the good fortune to be located along the line of the first lateral were able to get the first surface supplies in 1964.
Westlands Merges with Westplains
The law required that the contract rest before Congress for 90 days. In the meantime, the Interior had decided that a considerable advantage would be gained, through economics of scale in operation and the conservation of water, if Westlands was merged with the Westplains Water Storage District.
Westplains Water Storage District (organized in 1962) encompassed 214,000 acres of land lying generally above the present course of the San Luis Canal to the west of the original Westlands Water District. Westplains was negotiating for a supply of state-developed water from the San Luis Reservoir but soon learned that the state could only serve a fringe of land along the western edge of their district that was not included in the government's feasibility report. In 1964, it became apparent that Westplains, which now encompassed about 250,000 acres, would have to look to the federal government for a supplemental surface water supply.
At the urging of representatives of the United States, Westlands proceeded to obtain the merger with Westplains and dissolution of Westplains Water Storage District by act of the California Legislature. In addition, Westlands took over the operation and maintenance of the Coalinga Canal and Pumping Plant at its own expense.
On April 1, 1965, the contract was executed in Washington in the presence of Congressman B.F. Sisk and Senator Thomas Kuchel. Under it, the Bureau agreed to a $157,048,000 expenditure for the District's distribution and collector drain facilities. At that time, the contracted amount was considered to be adequate to provide service to all District land.
On June 29, 1965, Westlands Water District and Westplains Water Storage District merged. The enlarged Westlands Water District encompassed about 592,000 irrigated acres. Since the merger with Westplains, additional lands have been annexed to the District.