About Chenowith Water PUD

Chenowith Water PUD was created in 1945 as Chenowith Irrigation Cooperative, Incorporated. The original membership consisted of ten households for the purpose of irrigating the gardens and farms on the west end of The Dalles. When the first well was drilled in 1946 and the water tested it was determined that the water met all drinking water standards and soon thereafter was being piped into the homes.

With the creation of a public water system it was soon determined that a general manager would be needed. The board of directors chose Ernest H. Rhodes who held the position for the next few decades. Since Ernie's retirement in 1984 there have been six persons to hold the manager's position including the current manager who is the author of this history portion.

With housing being developed within the Chenowith area the need for additional water was determined and a second well was drilled in 1949. The third well was drilled in 1956. All three of these wells are drawing water from what is known as The Dalles Pool which is located beneath basalt rock 250 feet below the surface. In 1997 when attempting to place a sanitary seal within Well #1 it was inadvertently plugged with concrete when the seal failed which was then determined to be unusable and a new well (#4) was drilled to replace.

In the mid seventies an aeration chamber was placed at well #3 location to aide in the removal of hydrogen sulfide which isn't harmful for consumers; however the smell is definitely not pleasant. This was the only treatment that the groundwater required until 1995 when chlorine was introduced to the water to aide in compliance with drinking water regulations.

It was also in 1995 that the name was changed from Chenowith Irrigation Co-op to Chenowith Water Co-op, which helped identify the system as a domestic water use not just irrigation.

In 1999 the current membership voted to abolish the Co-op and transfer all holdings to the newly formed Chenowith Water People's Utility District. This was done as a way of protecting the water rights and maintaining an entity for water service to the Chenowith Area residents.

In 2001 the residents of the Murray's Addition (formerly known as Lower Chenowith Water District) area which had their own water system voted to annex into the PUD, this increased the size by 175 accounts and brought two more wells.

In 2002 the residents of Columbia Crest Water District which served 21 homes also voted to annex into the PUD.

It is the goal of the current board of directors and management to intertie all three systems into one, which we hope to complete by 2005.