Recreational Use of Reservoirs in San Diego

THE earliest impounding reservoirs in San D go County, Calif., were built by private s ndicat in the 1880's for the irrigation of undeveloped lands. These early reservoirs became popular with the owners of the o panies nd with their friends and neighbors, for fishing and duck hunting, and no ne was particularly co cerned with sanitation or wate quality because the water was used only for irrigation. By 1901, the city of San Diego had purchased the nucleus of a water distribution system from two private companies. It was realized that the wells that had been serving the city with water for domestic use could not continue to do so, because both quality and quantity were becoming deficient. Therefore, the city had to look elsewhere for a dependable water supply. The first logical place to go was to the private irrigation systems, some of which apparently had some surplus water.