Quality Water, Quality Service

Once the District was formed there was much work to be done in order to bring water to the average citizen who had hopes of prospering as a California grower.  In February of 1917 Paradise citizens voted 224 to 24 to tax themselves $350,000 for a bond issue that would finance the building of pipelines and Magalia Dam.  The assessed land value at that time was $348,000.  The optimistic outlook of Ridge residents soon became gloomy as the declaration of war against Germany came in April of 1917.  Prices on everything went up, and steel was not available.  Early settlers of this area had some very rough years and several residents lost their land due to unpaid tax assessments during the years of World War I, World War II, and the Depression.