Authorizing Statute/Enabling Act

The Trabuco Canyon Water District (TCWD or District) is a county water district organized and operating pursuant to Water Code Section 30000 and following, and other applicable provisions of State law.

TCWD [formerly the Santa Ana Mountains County Water District] was created by a vote of area residents in a special bond election on October 16, 1962, after a group of resident pioneers pursued annexation of what is now the District’s service area boundaries to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The early pioneers organized a special election for October 16, 1962, which resulted in a vote of 98 to 2 in support of the District’s formation. The election authorized bonds in the amount of $1,575,000 to purchase water capacity and construct distribution pipelines, reservoirs, and water filtration and treatment facilities.

These founders included: F.L. Schwendeman, Frank W. Waer, Nicholas A. West, Leonard Schwendeman, Grady Glenn, and Roy S. Head. Roger Howell and Alex Bowie as attorneys for the District set up the legal structure of the District.

 

History

In the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, TCWD was mainly a community of summer homes in an area characterized with significant elevation challenges, limited water supplies, and heavy brush and chaparral. Water sources consisted of two wells, earthen reservoirs for collecting rainfall runoff, and small wells, creeks, and springs. During the summer and fall, as well as during drought periods, there often was not enough water.

After the formation of the District in 1962, five (5) cubic feet per second (cfs) capacity in the Santiago Aqueduct was purchased from Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC), from MWD's supply, and necessary pipelines were constructed. Since 1984, the existing treatment plant and booster station were reconstructed and modified with an initial capacity of 300,000 gallons per day (gpd) and later expanded to 3,000,000 gpd.

The District has not always used all of its capacity, so it has, from time to time, used that extra capacity to assist other water districts. This sharing benefits both districts and is common among water districts.

In 1988 the District obtained four (4) cfs of water in the Allen-McColloch Pipeline (AMP). This capacity is conveyed to the District via the South County pipeline. The capacity exists at an inter-tie connection to provide a total of ten (10) cfs of capacity.

In 1984, the District, in conjunction with the Robinson Ranch development, built a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 250,000 gpd. Expansion of the plant to 850,000 gpd was completed by 1992. Subsequently, the District purchased an additional 125,000 gpd of capacity in the Chiquita Wastewater treatment facility.

Completion of the Trabuco Canyon Water District's Master Plan in 2022 has aided in the District's planning for the future. Additional treatment facilities, reclaimed water storage and domestic water sources are planned and will be developed to ensure the District's capability to service its customers through build out.