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The
Early Years: 1953-1959
The Dublin San Ramon Services District
traces its beginning back to April 1953 with the creation of
the Parks Community Services District. At that time the District
was formed to secure use of the Camp Parks sewer ponds in Pleasanton.
Septic tanks were failing in what was then rural, unincorporated
county land, and local residents hoped to replace them with
a new sewage treatment system. The ponds, however, were never
acquired and several years would pass before the District was
formally launched.
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The Years of Awakening:
1960-1961
Early in 1960 Volk/McLain Communities, a residential
development company, purchased over 4,000 acres of open
land within Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Before
allowing Volk/McLain to build homes on the property,
the two counties required that a public agency be in
place to furnish water, sewage treatment, trash collection
and fire protection. That year the District was re-activated
to set up these municipal services, and it was given
a new name-the Valley Community Services District.
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By the end of
1960 much had been accomplished. Volk/McLain Communities constructed
its first homes, the District's water distribution system
and temporary sewage treatment facilities began operating
and local citizens organized a volunteer fire department.
In spring 1961, VCSD added parks
and recreation services to its responsibilities and expanded
its three-member board of directors by two local residents
to increase citizen representation.
By fall 1961, the District had
built a new fire station and a permanent wastewater treatment
plant with 2.5 million gallon-per-day capacity, and a fire
chief and plant superintendent were hired to run the new facilities.
In 1961, VCSD also established
its first user and connection fees, which paid for the sewage
treatment plant, reservoirs and pipelines. |
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A Community
Takes Shape: 1962-1969
The years 1962 to 1965 were a time of great change within the
Amador and San Ramon Valleys, and the District responded quickly,
adapting its own utility systems to the new demands. During
this period VCSD transferred its water system in south San Ramon
to the East Bay Municipal Utility District and contracted with
the city of Pleasanton to treat that city's sewage.
VCSD negotiated an agreement in 1963 with Zone 7 of the Alameda
County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to supply
groundwater and eventually surface water from the California
Water Project, an arrangement that continues to serve District
water customers today.
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A
Decade of Urbanization: 1970-1979
More changes came with the
District's second decade. In 1977, it adopted the name
by which it is known today-Dublin San Ramon Services District.
Fire services shifted from a mostly volunteer crew to
a department of paid professionals.
In 1977 the Alameda County Water District objected to
the discharge of treated wastewater to Alameda Creek,
which provides part of Fremont, Union City and Newark's
water supply. In 1979, with other local agencies, DSRSD
established its current system of pumping treated wastewater
through pipelines operated by the Livermore Amador Valley
Water Management Agency (LAVWMA) and the East Bay Dischargers
Authority to San Francisco Bay. |
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Two
Cities Are Born: 1980-1989
As the community developed, cities
incorporated; the city of Dublin was established in 1982, with
the city of San Ramon following in 1983. Working closely with
these new cities, the District began an orderly transfer, starting
in 1986 with garbage collection and ending in 1988 with the
fire department and parks and recreation services. |
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The Beginning of a New Product, Recycled Water: 1990-1999
In 1990, the District Board of Directors reorganized
staff, redefined department responsibilities and
approved plans for a new administration building.
When the building opened in October 1992, for the
first time the DSRSD administrative services, planning
and permitting staff as well as management employees
were able to work under one roof, improving communication
and efficiency.
For 20 years DSRSD has used recycled water to irrigate
the grounds at its wastewater treatment plant. In
1991, after five years of below-average rainfall,
DSRSD, in cooperation with the city of Livermore
and Zone 7, initiated a study which showed cost-effective
recycling of highly treated wastewater was now a
possibility for some public uses. |
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An idea whose time
has come, water recycling provides the District with an effective
method of managing and preserving water, a precious resource.
For more than 30 years the District's Board of Directors and
staff have been dedicated to the delivery of municipal services
to meet the needs of their Dublin and San Ramon customers. As
the District provides water and wastewater services in the closing
years of the 20th century, and is planning for delivery of recycled
water in the 21st century, it is guided
by the conviction that service must remain competitively priced
and provided in a manner that is both socially and environmentally
responsible. |
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Expansion: 2000-2007
In 1995, the Dublin San Ramon Services and East Bay Municipal Utility Districts formed a partnership to bring recycled water to the Valley. In 2006, they unveiled a new sand filtration treatment process at the Water Recycling Plant and began providing sand filtered recycled water for irrigation in Dublin and the San Ramon Valley communities: parks, school grounds, golf courses, and roadway medians. As homes were built in the Dougherty Valley, the District’s customer base doubled.
Recycled water provides a drought-resistant water supply, conserves drinking water, and reduces the amount of treated wastewater discharged into the
San Francisco Bay. There are currently more than 4,800 sites in California that use recycled water, including the San Francisco 49ers' practice field in Santa Clara, Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill golf courses, and hundreds of vineyard acres owned by Gallo Wineries. |
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