Company Profile
Helix Water District
Company Overview
We were formed by residents over 100 years ago to bring water to San Diego’s east county communities. Today, we treat water for much of east county and distribute water to the 278,000 people in our service area.
Company History
The beginning of Helix Water District took place in 1885 when the San Diego Flume Company was organized by a group of foreign investors. This company built Cuyamaca Dam for conservation of surface water in the Cuyamaca mountains, a diverting dam on the San Diego River, and a 36-mile wooden flume to carry water from the dam to the growing communities near the coast. Later, the flume company was sold to the Cuyamaca Water Company, part of the holdings of Colonel Ed Fletcher. In 1913, the La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley Irrigation District was organized. It encompassed 14,794 acres of land of which 12,000 were devoted to agriculture. However, the district did not become an operating water agency until it concluded its purchase of the Cuyamaca Water Company in 1926.
The effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s on the district were nearly devastating, but strong leadership enabled the organization to remain solvent and continue its operations. By the early 1940s, the rapid population growth in San Diego County, coupled with a series of dry years, brought water leaders to the realization that imported water would be necessary for the survival of the area. Steps had been taken earlier by the city of San Diego to acquire water rights to the Colorado River. In 1944, the San Diego County Water Authority was organized with the La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley Irrigation District among its original members. Because of the emergency status of the water shortage and because of the importance of the area to the war effort, the San Diego County Water Authority was annexed to Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The Navy constructed the first pipeline of the San Diego Aqueduct system to take water from the Colorado River Aqueduct, which had been completed by MWDSC in 1941. The first water from this system arrived in the La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley Irrigation District in 1947, just days before rationing would have been required.
During the 1950s, the second pipeline was added to the first San Diego Aqueduct, followed during the 1960s with a third pipeline. The fourth pipeline, which equals the combined capacity of the first three pipelines, was completed in 1973. Pipeline five was completed in 1994-96. Pipeline six is on the drawing boards pending negotiations with MWDSC over future water supplies.
Although the supplies of imported water appeared to be adequate, the phenomenal population growth during the 1950s and 1960s resulted in mounting problems of distribution and storage. Under an agreement, which transferred title of Lake Murray to the city of San Diego in 1961, the district firmed up its water storage rights in the city’s El Capitan Reservoir to include 10,000 acre-feet from any source. In 1962, the district completed construction of Chet Harritt Dam, which forms Lake Jennings, a 9,800-acre-foot capacity reservoir.
During the rapid growth period of the 1950s, the area included within the district was enlarged enormously. The largest of the annexations was a large portion of the El Cajon Valley not previously entitled to imported water. Partly due to expansion, but primarily in the interest of brevity, the district’s name was changed in 1956 to Helix Irrigation District to identify it with the area’s most prominent landmark, Mount Helix.
In 1973, the name of the district was changed to Helix Water District since only a small portion of the water supplied by the district was then used for agriculture. However, the district still operates under the California Irrigation District Act.
The district now serves an area of approximately 50 square miles and a population of more than 278,000. It serves more than 56,000 metered accounts and provides 28,500 acre-feet of water, annually.