Palm Springs traces its first water service to 1887, when John Gutherie McCallum formed the Palm Valley Water Company and built a 16-mile canal between Whitewater Canyon and the village of Palm Springs. Lined with rocks, this simple canal delivered melted San Gorgonio Mountain snow to the grateful settlers.

Alvah Hicks acquired the water company in the 1920s and obtained the water rights to Snow Creek and Falls Creek Canyons at the foot of Mount San Jacinto. The company was renamed “Palm Springs Water Company.”

During the 1940s, Hicks sank deep wells and discovered what appeared to be an unlimited supply of delicious pure water. The discovery led to a pattern of groundwater dependency and increased consumption by local residents.

By the late 1950s, groundwater levels in some areas had dropped as much as 70 feet. Voters, concerned about future water supplies, approved the formation of the Desert Water Agency. This allowed the Palm Springs area to qualify for participation in the California Water Plan. This Plan provides for contracting non-profit public water agencies in California to acquire water from Northern California, where supplies are plentiful.

To resolve the absence of direct service to the Palm Springs area from Northern California, the Agency trades its State Water Project water allotment with the Metropolitan Water District for it's Colorado River allotment, which is delivered to our recharge basins (located near Windy Point). Since 1973, the Colorado River water has been used to supplement our natural replenishment.