History of Del Paso Manor Water District
Our history dates to the late 1940s when developers Lusk and King developed the area known as Del Paso Manor. This unincorporated area of Sacramento County was rural at the time. In order to build homes, the developers drilled wells and established the Del Paso Water Company water system. When they completed the neighborhood development in 1955, they offered to sell the company to the residents.
In 1955, a group of residents began negotiations and started the process to form a Government Special District that established the Del Paso County Manor Water District in 1956. This original group of residents also served as our first Board of Directors establishing many of the rules and regulations we follow today.
Our original name included “County.” Although Del Paso was not an actual county at the time, the word indicated the water code that governs our operations. Later, a law passed allowing water agencies to drop “County or Irrigation” from their name but required agencies to continue operations under the water code from which they were formed. At that time, we became the Del Paso Manor Water District.
The majority of our wells and distribution system date to when they were first installed by Lusk and King While we are proud of our history, we face system mapping challenges due to the transformations since our inception. When Del Paso Water Company sold the water system to the District, they provided very few maps of the distribution system. Additionally, well documentation requirements in the 1940s were not the same as they are today.
Over the years, we have worked to improve our map documentation but there are still many unknown valve locations. When we improve or replace wells and water mains, we always update our documentation. This will ultimately improve our mapping system over time. Until then, we are fortunate to have knowledgeable staff with many years of experience to tackle our challenges and to assist customers in locating their curb stop valves.