Welcome to Serrano Water District

NOTE: "At the January 22, 2008, meeting of the Serrano Water District Board of Directors, a resolution was unanimously passed to fill the director vacancy in Division 1 through a regular election to be held on June 3, 2008."

The water service for the residents of Villa Park and a small portion of Orange is supplied by the Serrano Water District, which is an independent governmental body with an elected Board of Directors.  It is separate and distinct from the City of Villa Park Municipal government, but is an integral part of the community.

The District traces its origins back to the early 1880s when the farmers in Villa Park joined with those in El Modena to build a dam on Santiago Creek in order to divert water from the creek to irrigate their fields and orchards.  In subsequent years several well companies were formed, wells were drilled, and pipelines were laid to augment the water from the creek.

In 1928 the District joined with the Carpenter Irrigation District of El Modena and the Irvine Company for the construction of the Santiago Dam and Reservoir, more commonly known as Irvine Lake.  This project was completed in 1931 at a cost of approximately $1 million and the debt incurred in its construction was retired a number of years ago.

In 1931 the residents of Villa Park approved a bond issue which provided funds for the construction of the initial domestic water system in the city with pipes sized to provide for service to one house on each ten acres.  With the urbanization of Villa Park in the early 1960s and the resulting decreasing need for agricultural water, the District built the filtering plant on Taft Avenue and later reservoirs at Sycamore and Taft to facilitate the use of water received from Irvine Lake.

The District is governed by a Board of Directors elected to terms of four years by the voters residing within the district.  The members of the present board are:  C.L. “Larry” Pharris, Jr., President; and members, Robert F. Rickerl, Lloyd Appelman, Jerry Haight, Vice President; Division 1 vacant.  The Board is responsible for overseeing the operations of the District and for making all major legal and financial decisions.

The daily operations of the District are handled by David Noyes, Manager, who supervises a staff of eleven.