In 1879, when Anaheim was only 22 years old, the city-owned Water Utility kicked off operations with one well, a 20,000 gallon redwood storage tank, and one mile of wooden pipeline.

Since then, the City’s system has grown substantially to include 18 active wells, 12 treated water reservoirs with combined storage capacity of 28.75 million gallons, one 920 million gallon untreated water reservoir, 9 pumping stations, over 62,000 service connections, and 750 miles of pipe in the distribution system. Currently, water sales total over 23 billion gallons a year with an average daily distribution of 65 million gallons and the single day distribution topping out at nearly 88 million gallons. The water system’s historical single day distribution is 107.3 million gallons, set in 1997.  Anaheim has the capacity to pump more than 70 percent of its water from the Orange County groundwater basin with the remaining 30 percent  consisting of  imported supplies purchased from MWD.

The Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Rating Services recently upgraded Anaheim’s water revenue bonds to “AAA” and “AA-plus”, respectively. These ratings put Anaheim in an elite class of only a handful of Southern California utilities.
The strength and reliability of Anaheim’s water system is also demonstrated by the Class 1 rating the City maintains from the Insurance Services Office. Anaheim’s water system contributes to the Class 1 rating by providing highly reliable service and the capacity at adequate water pressure necessary to fight fires. To put this accomplishment in perspective, Anaheim is 1 of only 60 Class 1–rated cities in the nation and 1 of only twelve Class 1-rated cities in California.

Operating on a site adjacent to the 920 million gallon Walnut Canyon Reservoir, the Lenain Water Treatment Plant treats up to 15 million gallons of drinking water a day for Anaheim customers. Lenain is the only City-owned water treatment plant in Orange County and uses conventional treatment processes, as well as the latest ozone disinfection technology to help make sure Anaheim’s water quality continues to exceed all state and federal standards for drinking water.

Anaheim also is one of the few cities in Orange County that operates its own state certified water quality laboratory. In order to assure the continued delivery of high-quality water to Anaheim homes and businesses, Anaheim conducts over 44,000 tests annually in addition to those conducted by MWD and the Orange County Water District.