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History of CPUD

May contain: human, person, and soil
Miles of remote ditch used to be cleaned by hand with a shovel and rubber boots.

The Calaveras Public Utility District (CPUD) was established on January 19, 1934 as a publicly owned utility to provide water to San Andreas, Mokelumne Hill and outlying areas. CPUD is governed by an elected five member Board currently consisting of President J.W. Dell'Orto, Richard Blood, Brady McCartney, and Jack Tressler.

In 1970, the voters approved a bond election to replace open canals and reservoirs with: a pump station on the South Fork of the Mokelumne River; a 2000 acre foot reservior (Jeff-Davis) near Glencoe; a 1.5 million gallon storage tank in Mokelumne Hill; a 3.0 million gallon storage tank in San Andreas; and 20 miles of connecting pipeline. The system was designed with excess capacity to allow for population growth, which is why CPUD has adequate water to make it through drought years such as we have recently exeperienced. A system to serve Paloma was added in 1977. In 2004, a USDA grant/loan provided funding for a water system to serve the Railroad Flat/Glencoe area. 

CPUD pumps over 450 million gallons of water per year for the nearly 2000 customers in the 35 square mile District serving a population of almost 5000 people. The modern treatment plant filters and chlorinates the Mokelumne River water which is then gravity fed to Mokelumne Hill then San Andreas. The staff of CPUD is proud of the service and excellent quality water they distribute. You are invited to stop in and ask questions about the system at the District's office location at 506 West St. Charles St., San Andreas.

Also Available: "The History of the Calaveras Public Utility District"

We have a special publication containing over 60 pages that covers 150 years of water projects and people in Calaveras County, as we transitioned from maintaining ditches as the photo above shows, into our modern system.  Our roots go back to the Gold Rush, and this publication contains a wealth of historic photos and events written in an engaging style.  Please contact our office for information and pricing.