Cuyamaca Water Company facts for kids

The Cuyamaca Water Company (CWC) was a company that supplied water in San Diego County, California. It operated from 1910 to 1926. The company started when two men, Ed Fletcher and James A. Murray, bought the San Diego Flume Company on June 1, 1910. They paid $125,000 for it. This purchase gave the new Cuyamaca Water Company all the water rights and properties that the old company owned. James A. Murray mostly paid for the company, and Ed Fletcher was in charge of running it.

Early Days of the Water Company

The Cuyamaca Water Company provided water to farming areas. These farms stretched from the edge of San Diego City to the El Cajon valley. Ed Fletcher knew how important water was for farming. He also had a real estate business. He used both businesses to make more money by raising the cost of water in areas he owned.

The CWC often disagreed with the California Railway Commission. This commission was in charge of regulating companies like the CWC. The arguments were usually about how much the CWC wanted to charge its customers for water. When the CWC bought the San Diego Flume Company, it agreed to keep the old prices. However, by the time the sale was final, water prices had gone down. The CWC asked the Railway Commission to let them raise prices. But the commission said no. They decided that the CWC was a public utility. This meant it served the public, and its prices could be controlled.

Growing the Water System

The Railway Commission later asked the CWC to rebuild the San Diego Flume with concrete. But Ed Fletcher suggested using a special roofing material instead. This material was approved and cost $45,000. It helped the flume work well for another 20 years. This made the water system much more efficient. It also greatly increased the company's profits from 1915 to 1923.

After fixing the flume, the CWC built two large reservoirs. These were located near the end of the flume. One was the Grossmont Reservoir, built in 1913. It could hold 30 million gallons of water. The other was the Murray Dam, which replaced an older dam called La Mesa Dam.

In 1914, the CWC began selling water to the city of San Diego. This caused problems for the farmers, also known as irrigators. They complained that they were not getting enough water. They felt the CWC was sending too much water to the city instead of to their farms. The CWC had a special way of charging customers. They called it a "dual structure rate." This meant customers paid based on the size of their land. In 1917, the Railway Commission made the CWC stop this dual rate system. This happened because of many complaints from customers and farmers.

In 1920, water prices were finally raised. This decision was supported by both the Railway Commission and the US Supreme Court. The CWC was very interested in selling more water to the city. This was because the city paid for the exact amount of water it used, not based on land size.

Eventually, after trying several times, Ed Fletcher successfully sold the Cuyamaca Water Company. It was sold to the La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley Irrigation District. The sale happened on January 4, 1926, for $1.4 million.