History of the Water & Sanitary Districts

Public utilities aren't the most exciting places to visit on the world wide web.  However, the web does provide an easy means to distribute information that may be of interest to people curious about where their water comes from, where it goes, and how those processes came into being.

Augusta Water District's 100 year history is worth talking about, so take a moment to find out how your water district came into being.

• Read the Bond that formed the Augusta Water District in 1903

• Excerpts from 1906 Trustees' Report

• 1886 Railroad bridge bought by the AWD to carry a water line

• Legislature closes access to Carleton Pond in 1928

• Read Sid Anthony's 1954 ASCE presentation, "Look to the Future"

• Sid Anthony's history of the AWD, early 1950's

• 1940, new homes

• 1955, Triangle Well pump test

Augusta Sanitary District's history isn't quite as long but it's still an important part of the development of the lower Kennebec River valley.  Much of the improvement in water quality in the Kennebec is attributable to the hard work of the Augusta Sanitary District.

• January, 1965 Article re. new wastewater plant

Between 2004 and 2007, significant efforts took place to merge the water and sanitary districts together.  This culminated in legislation that was approved by the Maine Legislature in 2007 and approved by voters in November, 2007.  Some of the documents below are pertinent for other agencies seeking to merge utilities or other aspects of their organizations and help preserve this important history.

• Interlocal agreement that allowed the two utilities to work together prior to the legislated merger