The history of the Alameda County Water District is closely intertwined with the area it serves. Originally designated Washington Township, it became the cities of Fremont, Newark and Union City. In the early days, Washington Township consisted of eight villages or districts which today are known as Irvington, Centerville, Mission San Jose, Warm Springs, Niles, Decoto, Newark and Alvarado.

In 1797, Mission San Jose was established by the Franciscan Priests who lived peaceably with the Ohlone Indians, the original inhabitants of the area. After 1821, other settlers came to the area, forming an agricultural community that remained for almost 100 years. Each spring the area was filled with the beautiful blossoms of the fruit orchards that flourished because of the wonderful climate and abundant water supply.

Alameda Creek was one of the free flowing creeks that supplied farmers, and there were many artesian wells that could be easily accessed. However, by 1910, growth in the Bay Area caused a water shortage to develop. Spring Valley Water Company was piping water from the Niles Cone Groundwater Basin to thirsty San Franciscans, and the People's Water Company was diverting water to Oakland.

At this point, Christian Runckel, a local resident, took on the battle to return local water rights to the people of this area. When a serious water shortage began to affect the farmers in the area, it was decided that the formation of a water district in Washington Township was an absolute must. The continuing overuse of the groundwater by the Bay Area water districts had caused the water table to drop to its lowest level in history, with water levels falling an inch a day.

On December 30, 1913, the people of Washington Township went to the polls and voted in favor of a water district by the overwhelming majority of 883 to 18. Alameda County Water District became the first water district founded in the State of California under the Caminetti Bill (County Water District Act of 1913). The first Board of Directors, elected in 1914, included Joseph C. Shinn, E.H. Stevenson, William Trenouth, Emanuel George, and William D. Patterson.

The first twenty years of the District's history were stormy, filled with legal battles that wrenched the water supply from other water districts. The Oakland Tribune reflected on the temper of the time when it wrote on May 27, 1930, that "...seventeen years of work by landowners in the southern areas of the county...have been crowned with success in the acquisition of the Alameda Creek water rights and Alvarado Pumping Station from the East Bay Municipal Utilities District."

The Alvarado Pumping Plant was upgraded during the '30's, and an agreement with San Francisco Water Department for the rights to purchase water from their Hetch Hetchy system was arranged. The District had a small staff in those days as evidenced by the duties of the General Manager which included "collector, meter reader, and general manager."

The area experienced a building boom after World War II, requiring the District to create policies regarding charges to developers and the need to develop flood control facilities. The flow of Alameda Creek was erratic, flooding in the spring, and drying up in the fall. While there was natural percolation into the groundwater basin, the District realized the need to control this process in order to ensure a more reliable supply to its customers.

By 1972, the Army Corps of Engineers completed the task of widening and straightening Alameda Creek, allowing for a larger percolation area for the groundwater supply and providing a channel to the Bay for heavy storm water outflow.

This growing number of people created the need to look for other sources of water. When the State Water Project completed the South Bay Aqueduct in 1962, ACWD was the first State Water Contractor to receive its water. This new supply was diverted into Alameda Creek to be used in recharging the groundwater supply through percolation. Two years later a contract was signed with San Francisco to divert water from the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct as it passed through Fremont and Newark. With the purchase of Citizens' Utilities Company in 1976, the service area of ACWD expanded to include all of Fremont, Newark, and Union City completing the service area as we know it today.

To reduce the hardness of the groundwater supply, the Manuel J. Bernardo Softening Plant on Peralta Boulevard was commissioned in 1971. When it opened, it was the world's largest fixed bed ion exchange softening plant. A more natural method of softening was achieved when ACWD began blending its water sources in 1992, and the softening plant was decommissioned.

With the installation in 1972 of Rubber Dam No. 1 across Alameda Creek, the flow of water into ACWD's percolation ponds was controlled in a more efficient manner. At the time of its construction, this rubber dam was the largest in the world, and one of the first to be used in the United States. Later, two other inflatable dams were added to the creek, insuring the maximum percolation of water into the groundwater basin.

Surface water treatment of the State Project Water began in 1976 with the completion of the Mission San Jose Treatment Plant. With a capacity of seven million gallons a day, this plant supplies water to a portion of the ACWD service area that does not receive groundwater. In 1993, a new treatment facility on Mission Boulevard was dedicated. This new facility has a capacity of 21 to 28 million gallons a day, and uses ozone to disinfect the water. This state-of-the-art plant creates hydropower from the very water it treats.

Besides its concern to provide its customers with a reliable water supply, ACWD has been equally vigilant in ensuring the quality of that supply. In 1976, ACWD added a new laboratory to provide an expanded water quality testing capability. A state-of-the-art water quality monitoring station in Alameda Creek performs constant surveillance of this water source, and water quality stations have been installed throughout the distribution system to insure that water flowing to customers is of the highest quality. Water is also taken from customers' homes for testing. Today, more than 67,000 tests are completed annually in our laboratory to assure that the quality of the water customers receive is in compliance with all federal and state regulations.

Over the years, the District expanded its water storage facilities. At present, eleven reservoirs and tanks store a total of 89 million gallons of water for customers to use. The majority of these are designed to be unobtrusive. They are buried beneath the ground to blend in with the natural environment and covered to protect the water quality. They also provide an important emergency reserve.