District at a Glance
Mission Statement
"Committed to providing the highest quality water for the lowest feasible cost and to serving our customers with diligence, efficiency, and integrity."
Location & Service Area
Carmichael Water District (District) serves the unincorporated community of Carmichael and is located in the northern part of Sacramento County along the north bank of the American River. The District is about ten miles east of downtown Sacramento and provides water for irrigation, municipal and commercial customers. The District serves approximately 11,700 connections and a population of about 41,200.
Governance
The District is a public agency governed by an elected five-member Board of Directors. Each Director represents their division (Divisions 1 through 5) and the ratepayers as a whole. The Directors are elected by the customers of the District and serve four-year staggered terms.
Water Supply
The District has two primary water supplies, surface water from the American River and groundwater from the underground aquifer referred to as the North American Subbasin. Surface water is diverted and treated at the District's 22 million gallon microfiltration plant while groundwater is produced from a series of production wells strategically located within the District's service area.
How We Got Here
The origin of the District dates to July 3, 1915, when the Carmichael Colonies Improvement Club appointed a committee to investigate the possible formation of an irrigation district to address the growing water needs of the Carmichael Colony. The committee hired Albert Givan, Sacramento Civil Engineer, to study the engineering feasibility of the projects. The result of that study was the formation of the Carmichael Irrigation District and the filing for 15 cubic feet per second of water right from the American River. The District held its first official meeting on February 8, 1916.
The District was the first irrigation district established in Sacramento County under the Wright Irrigation Act of 1887. This led the way for surrounding Colonies to pursue their own irrigation districts.
CWD Corporate Shop. Taken November 15, 1962
CWD Corporate Yard. Taken November 15, 1962
Carmichael Water District Today
The District changed its name to Carmichael Water District in the 1980s but remains organized under the laws governing irrigation districts. The governance of the District is through a five-member elected Board of Directors with each director representing a division of approximately equal population within the service area.
Today's District has come a long way from servicing the original ten-acre plots to now covering approximately eight square miles with a population of over 38,000. The District currently employs trained staff with the responsibilities of providing water treatment and delivery, administration, financial services, engineering, field operations, maintenance services, water efficiency, and public information services to the District's customers.
Since its formation, the District has used several water supply diversions off the American River which have been modified and improved to become the current infiltration diversions feeding the Bajamont Water Treatment Plant (the main source of water supply for District customers). Groundwater was also developed by the District prior to World War II as part of a balanced conjunctive use portfolio management strategy and continues today with the District maintaining 8 groundwater wells. The District maintains over 154 miles of water lines and supplies an average of 2,940 million gallons of water annually to its customers.
As an active member of the community, the District regularly engages in local, regional, and state water resource management activities, organizations, associations, and Joint Powers Authorities. Without a safe and reliable supply of public water, the Carmichael community could not have developed into the great place to live, work and play as it is today.
Looking forward, Carmichael Water District remains committed to providing the highest quality water for the lowest feasible cost and to serving our customers with diligence, efficiency, and integrity.