The Street Seen: Water (Private Companies)
Ocean Park
This is the 2nd in a series about Ocean Park’s water supply, and covers the period from about 1900 to 1915.
In the early 1900s, water is supplied to Santa Monica by four private, regulated1 water companies:
Ocean Park Water Company2 - serves the Lucas Ranch tracts in the hills of Ocean Park east of Main St.
City Water Company3 - serves Kinney’s Ocean Park Improvement Company’s beach tracts and Venice.
Santa Monica Water Company4 - serves all of Santa Monica north of Colorado; a small portion of the east end of Ocean Park; and an area of Ocean Park south of Pico along Main Street from Pico to Hill Street.
Irwin Heights Water Company5 - serves Sunset Park and does not provide water to Ocean Park.
While the companies are privately owned, their rates are set by the California Railroad Commission - the forerunner of the California Public Utilities Commission.
City Water Company, founded in 1901 as an offshoot of Ocean Park Improvement Co / Fraser and Jones Water Co, serves the Kinney & Ryan tract west of Main St – from Hollister south to Playa Del Rey. About 1/3 of City Water Company customers are in Santa Monica and 2/3 are in Venice. G.M. Jones is president, T.H. Dudley vice-president, and its offices are located at 137 Marine St. City Water Company has four plants:
Plant #1 - located at the east side of Lincoln at Sunset (Venice). This is City Water Company’s main water source.
Plant #2 - located at 7th & Ozone (Lot 1 Block 5 Fountain Glen No. 2 Tract) with 5 wells up to 450 ft deep connected to 1 pump. Plant #2 is essentially abandoned after 1913 due to the poor quality of the water.
City Water Water Co Plant #2 @ 7th & Ozone (Sanborn 1918) Plant #3 - located at Marine & Longfellow (Lot 1 Block 7 Fountain Glen No. 3 Tract) with 9 wells connected to 1 pump.
City Water Water Co Plant #3 @ Marine & Longfellow (Sanborn 1918) Plant #4 - located at 7th & Indiana (Venice).
City Water Company also owns properties on the east side of Longfellow at Marine (Lots 1 & 2 Block 8 Fountain Glen No. 3 Tract) and on the east side of Lincoln between Hill and Ashland (Lots 51, 52, 53 Block 7 East Santa Monica Tract)
Ocean Park Water Co, founded in 1896, serves the Lucas Ranch tracts east of Main St. E.J. Vawter is president and the offices are in the First National Bank of Ocean Park building on Marine & Neilson.
Ocean Park Water Co has 2 plants:
Highland & Ozone - (Lots 17 & 18 of Block C in Vawters Marine Tract) - bricked well 8ft diam to 40 ft then at the bottom, 4 wells to 80 ft.
Ocean Park Water Co Plant @ Highland & Ozone (Sanborn 1918) 7th & Rose (Venice) - (Lots 10 & 11 of Block A in 2352 Tract) mainly used for irrigation.
The water is pumped to Ocean Park Water Co’s 50,000 gallon reservoir at NWC 4th & Marine.
In 1906, Ocean Park Water Co builds a 1.30 million gallon concrete reservoir at 2501 Beverley Ave (between Kensington and Ocean Park Blvd (Central Ave)) - Lots 23 & 24 Block C FP Howard Tract. Water is pumped from the Highland and Ozone wells. The Beverley reservoir is at a local area high point with an elevation of 130 ft above sea level (40 ft higher than the 4th & Marine reservoir) providing higher pressure in the gravity supply pipes. Ocean Park Water Co abandons its 4th & Marine reservoir in 1907.
City Water Company doesn’t have its own reservoir and jointly uses Ocean Park Water Co’s reservoir on Beverley. Each company has its own intake & outflow meters to keep track of water usage.
Santa Monica Water Company, founded in 1903 by combining the water assets of Santa Monica Land & Water Company and Frederick H. Rindge’s (1857-1905) Artesian Water Company, supplies well water from west Los Angeles (Tongva springs are not used) pumped to
Reservoir at Douglas Park (formerly Padre Park) at Wilshire & 25th
Mt. Olivet Reservoir on Franklin Street atop Berkeley Hill
Irwin Heights Water Company, founded in 1903 by W.A. Irwin and C.E. Towner, serves Irwin Heights (Sunset Park) and has its offices at 16th St & Pico. The Irwin Heights Water Company has a well at 16th St (Hatch) & Marine and pumps to a 0.40 million gallon above-ground reservoir at 18th & Pearl.