The Flow of Time:
Our
100-Year Journey
A century of moments, big and small, have helped shape our company's legacy. Explore California Water Service Group's 100-year history through this interactive timeline and see how we've worked through the years to build "Trust on Tap."
Jump to the video timeline.
Visionary Christopher T. Chenery, nationally known civil engineer Thomas Hollis Wiggin, and investment banker George Lewis Ohrstrom, all World War I veterans, establish California Water Service Company (Cal Water). Cal Water will operate as a subsidiary of the New York-based Federal Water Service Company. Cal Water acquires water systems in four cities: Chico, Visalia, Bakersfield, and Fresno.
Company founder Christopher T. Chenery
Chico district water tanks
As the “Roaring Twenties” see dramatic growth in industry and technology, Cal Water expands by forming five new California water districts: Dixon, Livermore, Oroville, Stockton, and Willows.
Stockton water tank
Cal Water expands in Southern California with service to East Los Angeles.
East Los Angeles station interior
Cal Water’s East Los Angeles District Manager, 29-year-old Fred Dodge, happens to be in New York for training and tours the New York Stock Exchange on Black Thursday, witnessing the pandemonium of the stock market crash that will mark the start of the Great Depression.
Crowd of people gather outside the New York Stock Exchange following the Crash of 1929.
The New York Times newspaper headline on the market crash.
1930s
We continue to expand, forming the Marysville District. With expansion, we invest more in our communities, spending over $1 million on new infrastructure (worth over $9 million today!). One of our largest projects to date is the one-billion-gallon Chenery Reservoir.
Marysville elevated tank
New growth, new districts: we sell our Fresno system to the city and use the proceeds to buy Pacific Water Company. From this and additional Peninsula-area water system acquisitions, we form the Bayshore and Los Altos Districts. Cal Water ends the year as the largest privately owned water utility on the West Coast with 73,000 customers.
Los Altos infrastructure
Embracing innovation, we create a soda ash softening plant in San Mateo to treat well water—the first lime and soda plant installation on the Pacific Coast. We continue to expand, forming the University of California water system, which we will later develop into our Bear Gulch District.
Federal Water Service sells Cal Water to General Water, Gas and Electric Company of New York and transfers headquarters to San Jose, Calif. Ralph Elsman becomes head of Cal Water.
Our employees begin unionizing. Employees from eight districts become members of the Utility Workers Union of America.
CEO Ralph Elsman writes, “Despite the uncertainties of present-day operations and increases in costs and taxes, the company is exerting every effort to maintain its present low level of rate and high standard of service.”
Like the rest of the country, Cal Water is impacted by World War II, with more than 20% of our employees joining the armed forces. We support a national program, Victory Gardens, which encourages Americans to grow their own food while the war stretches resources thin, and even offer a discount to customers growing gardens. The following year, the National Victory Garden Institute recognizes us for our distinguished record on these efforts.
With the end of the World War II, we pivot to infrastructure investment, building miles of main and constructing new wells, pump stations, and water tanks.
1940s infrastructure
Ding, ding: Hello, stock exchange! Cal Water becomes a publicly traded company.
New York Stock Exchange – Broad Street
Drought conditions and post-war population growth strain water supplies.
Cal Water prioritizes water conservation.
Cal Water creates pension and welfare plans for all employees.
Cal Water employees from the 1950s
Two earthquakes hit our Bakersfield community in one summer, with property damage in Southern California estimated at $100 million. Cal Water maintains uninterrupted service throughout both emergencies and is officially commended by public authorities for its dedicated community support.
Timeline Gallery
1954 marks the end of a nine-year post-war period in which the size of the company and the number of customers served almost doubles.
Replacing transite with 12″ steel at Talisman Street, Torrance.
California experiences one of the worst storms in its history, hitting Cal Water’s communities especially hard and forcing the entire city of Marysville to evacuate. We maintain nearly uninterrupted service, and our employees work around the clock to support our communities.
Fred Dodge, the East Los Angeles District Manager who witnessed the crash of the stock market 27 years earlier, is elected President of Cal Water. Fred is shown below in a 1946 newsletter.
Cal Water becomes the largest privately owned utility company in the nation.
With a population boom and the need for supplemental water (water brought in from outside the service area), the State of California begins construction on the State Water Project, which will provide water for communities across California. In order to store the supplemental water supply until needed, Cal Water focuses on building additional storage capacity, constructing tanks over the next several years in East Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, Livermore, and Oroville.
Oroville Dam
In a pivotal move, Cal Water reaches a 20-year agreement with San Francisco Water Department to work together to secure the supplemental water supply needed for a growing population.
South San Francisco Station 1
Cal Water continues to grow, bringing our service to new communities in Salinas, King City, Selma, Hamilton City, and Stockton. The American Water Works Association also grants us the Award of Honor for a superior safety record.
Salinas office, 1962
The company receives our first delivery of water from the State Water Project.
Customers in Selma vote down a bond issue that would have enabled the City to take over our water system.
We make important updates to our billing system, moving to an electronic data processing system.
We begin serving a new H.J. Heinz Co. food processing plant in Stockton.
Our Engineering and Water Quality employees vote to become a part of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (AFL-CIO).
For the first time, Cal Water completes a storage tank that blends into the environment through the use of concealing landscaped mounds.
Clockwise from upper left: Westlake, Hermosa-Redondo (3 photos), Concord
Cal Water acquires Palos Verdes Water Company, expanding service in Southern California.
Palos Verdes Via La Cuesta
The company freezes wages and prices for 90 days in response to an order from the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, issued in response to rising inflation and a weakening dollar.
Chico District office, 1971
The 1973 energy crisis, triggered by an oil embargo, acutely strains the U.S. economy. Cal Water adapts by conserving fuel and power in cooperation with government programs.
Secretariat, one of founder Christopher Chenery’s thoroughbred racehorses, wins the Triple Crown, becoming the horse of the year.
Cal Water continues our commitment to delivering safe, clean water, beginning the two-year construction of filtration plants to treat surface water (water that is open to the environment) in our Oroville and Bear Gulch Districts.
Congress passes the landmark Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the quality of drinking water across the country.
Bear Gulch Ormandale tanks
Bear Gulch Station 25
California experiences a severe, two-year drought, which for the first time in history necessitates the curtailing of deliveries of supplemental water supplies. Cal Water’s effective and targeted water conservation efforts help customers save almost twice the amount of water requested.
Cal Water conservation commercial clip
We continue expanding our Southern California service with the purchase of Westlake Water Company and formation of our Westlake District.
Westlake Galanis Reservoir
A new regulation requires the testing of 25% of wells for volatile organic compounds in groundwater, but Cal Water goes beyond and tests 100% of our wells.
Forbes features Cal Water in its list of “Best Small Companies in America.”
Cal Water continues innovating; the company switches from recording meter reads on paper to entering them into electronic handheld devices.
We embrace advancements in technology to enhance water quality and install a carbon absorption system that successfully removes chemicals from groundwater, the first use of this treatment in California.
Palos Verdes Station 38
The devastating Loma Prieta earthquake rocks the Bay Area, destroying our communities and employees’ homes. Our employees quickly mobilize to help those affected, and our response earns a letter of commendation from Governor Deukmejian.
Timeline Gallery
An unusually cold December causes thousands of pipes to freeze and break, and employees in the Bay Area and other Northern California districts work through the holidays to make repairs.
Continuing our progress on water quality innovation, we enhance water chlorination across our California communities and begin at-tap lead and copper sampling.
Well chlorination system
The Northridge earthquake, one of the most damaging in U.S. history, overwhelms communities in Southern California. While our operations experience only minor damage, our teams spring into action, supporting emergency efforts to help our impacted neighbors.
Timeline Gallery
The company begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange as “CWT.”
As noted in our Annual Shareholders Report: “Most people call us a water company. But we’re something different. We’re a service company. Excellent service means better communities for today and for our children tomorrow.”
Parent company California Water Service Group is established. Employees contribute to the mission statement, which expresses a commitment to “being THE leader in providing traditional and innovative utility services.”
Pete Nelson joins the company as President & CEO. Under his leadership, the company will expand outside of California and engage employees in Continuous Improvement projects to enhance service and increase efficiency. Four notable Continuous Improvement projects later come from this program: the solar array that powers the Chico District office; the Water on Wheels trailers, which keeps water flowing during service interruptions; an engineering project that moves us from manual to digital mapping; and construction of the state-of-the-art Northwest Treatment Plant in Bakersfield.
Cal Water begins the “Voice of the Customer” survey, focusing on 72 areas of customer service to ensure that employees understand customer priorities and preferences.
Cal Water’s parent company, California Water Service Group, establishes a presence outside the state when it forms Washington Water Service and acquires Harbor Water Company and South Sound Utilities. Washington Water will eventually grow to be the largest investor-owned water utility in the state.
Gig Harbor
Cal Water expands service in Rancho Dominguez with our largest acquisition yet—Dominguez Services Corp. New districts include Dominguez, Antelope Valley, Kern River Valley, and Redwood Valley.
Timeline Gallery
Employees vote to forego Employee Celebration Day—an annual opportunity for the company to recognize the hard work and dedication of their employees—and contribute instead to victims of 9/11.
Cal Water’s parent company enters a third state, establishing New Mexico Water Service and acquiring the Rio Grande Utility Corporation.
Modern day New Mexico Water employees at work
Traditional peppers adorning customers’ homes in New Mexico
Aloha, Hawaii! California Water Service Group adds another state to our family, forming Hawaii Water Service. We also continue to invest in our infrastructure, opening the state-of-the-art treatment plant in Bakersfield, our largest capital project ever, which can produce 20 million gallons of water a day.
During a council meeting to discuss taking over the water system, Selma customers turn out in droves to say they want to “Keep Cal Water!”
Employees after council meeting hold signs that say “Keep Cal Water”
Company introduces e-billing service, giving customers a convenient, online way to manage and pay bills.
Current CEO & Chairman Marty Kropelnicki joins company as Vice President, CFO & Treasurer.
Cal Water introduces a discount for low-income customers.
Modern-day community fairs, where customers could sign up for our Customer Assistance Program, the low-income discount program
Cal Water launches an innovative program to help low-income families save water, installing high-efficiency toilets, showerheads, and faucet aerators in customers’ homes. A new rate structure enables Cal Water to promote conservation aggressively without impacting our financial stability.
Cal Water is selected by the West Basin Municipal Water District to operate and maintain the largest water recycling plant of its kind in the U.S.
Cal Water replaces a key water line in the Bear Gulch District using trenchless technology, which is more environmentally friendly and less disruptive.
Hawaii Water replaces an aging wastewater treatment plant with a more advanced treatment technology to produce high-quality water for reuse.
Cal Water completes work on the 4-million-gallon Harris Reservoir, an innovative engineering project that involves constructing a new tank inside of an existing tank to increase efficiency, reduce energy costs, and improve service for Westlake customers. The American Council of Engineering Companies recognizes Cal Water with a Merit Award for Engineering Excellence for our work on the reservoir.
The lead engineer on the Harris Reservoir, Carmelo (right), descends into the reservoir during its warranty inspection. Westlake tanks are typically nicknamed after their design engineers, so this one informally carries his name.
Cal Water is named a Top Workplace in the Bay Area for the first time.
Some of our teams, then and now
The National Association of Water Companies Innovation Awards recognizes Cal Water for its innovative automated phone notification system. The system, launched in 2011, contacts customers in mapped areas during emergencies. Cal Water continues innovating for customers by offering interactive phone service to make payments, check balances, and get their latest payment information 24/7.
Customer Service team members in today’s Southern California Regional Customer Center
California state regulators establish a safety limit for hexavalent chromium, and Cal Water constructs treatment facilities. We put customer safety first and continue treatment while the safety limit is suspended due to procedural issues. The safety limit is eventually reinstated.
The California Department of Water Resources, the State Water Resources Control Board, and several agencies gathered for the chromium-6 treatment plant ribbon-cutting in Willows.
Ion exchange vessels are displayed during the ribbon-cutting held at a chromium-6 treatment plant in Willows.
The company articulates our purpose: “To improve the quality of life for customers, communities, stockholders, and employees,” and our promise to provide customers with “Quality. Service. Value.”
Timeline Gallery
The company launches our college and trade school scholarship program for customers.
California experiences a historic drought, and Cal Water develops individualized water budgets for our more than 450,000 customers rather than taking a “one size fits all” approach.
Cal Water receives approval for our first-ever patent—a device that helps protect the environment, fish, and wildlife by preventing overflow of chlorinated water.
The company wins the JD Power Award for customer service and is named a Great Place to Work for the first time.
Cal Water Family Day
The Erskine Fire ravages Cal Water’s Kern River Valley District, and Cal Water crews work hard to keep water flowing. Our team is on the scene providing gift cards to customers who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs.
Timeline Gallery
Cal Water debuts joint emergency response training with first responders in Chico, Oroville, Guerneville, and Lucerne.
Bioterrorism exercise in Chico
CEO Marty Kropelnicki personally delivers See’s Candies (a Cal Water customer!) to customers evacuated for an extended period of time during the Oroville Dam spillway failure, and the company arranges for families to attend free movies at a local theater.
Cal Water employees recognized by state agency for hatchery assistance during Oroville spillway crisis
California is hit with three devastating wildfires in or near service areas: the Camp Fire, the Mendocino Complex Fire, and the Woolsey Fire. Cal Water works to keep water flowing and provides critical resources, such as masks. The following year, Cal Water establishes our Firefighter Grant Program, providing grants to local fire departments for lifesaving equipment and resources.
Timeline Gallery
California Water Service Group expands service in Washington, purchasing Rainier View Water Company, which doubles the size of Washington Water.
Cal Water donates innovative, water-saving equipment to LA County and Visalia Fire Departments that recycles millions of gallons of water used during firefighting training.
During the global pandemic, our workers are in the field keeping water service flowing and providing support to customers who are struggling financially. The following year, executives and board members will take a voluntary pay reduction to contribute to customers in need.
Cal Water completes largest water infrastructure improvement project to date to support Palos Verdes Peninsula customers.
Cal Water adopts our 2021 Climate Change Risk Assessment and Adaptation Framework, analyzing how climate change could impact our facilities, operations, and service across our California communities.
The company moves into yet another state, establishing Texas Water Service and entering into a joint venture with a company that builds water and wastewater infrastructure.
The company completes our first inventory for Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and commits to setting absolute reduction targets, which we do the following year.
Wind turbine in Hawaii
Historic wildfires devastate Maui, profoundly affecting our communities. Our team is the only water utility on the west side of the island to provide safe, clean water throughout the emergency.
National Guard firefighting
The company takes our commitment to the community up a notch with Season of Service, which engages employees at all levels in volunteer projects over the holidays.
Timeline Gallery
We win an EPA WaterSense 2023 Excellence Award for the first time and are ranked No. 1 in customer satisfaction among large water utilities in the west by JD Power.
Educating customers about water quality at an open house
We take our 24/7 commitment to customers to another level when the Palos Verdes Peninsula experiences severe landslides, positioning crews onsite around the clock.
Cal Water celebrates our centennial milestone, with profound appreciation for our employees, our customers, and our stakeholders.
Timeline Gallery
Ready to see the full picture?
Watch the complete 100-Year Anniversary Film brought to life through archival images and the voices of our people. See how a century of dedication has shaped the future of water in California.
Library & Archives
A rich collection of archival documents, images, reports, and more from an entire century of service.
Photo Gallery
Historical images—a visual journey through 100 years of "Trust on Tap."
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Documents
Historical press clippings, technical schematics, and other rare materials that shaped our century of service.
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Media Center
From logos to contact information — a resource page for members of the press.
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