Water for placer mining was first brought into Angels Camp in 1853 by the Union Water Company. Completed to Murphys in 1853, the system was extended to Washington Flat and Angels Camp that same year by utilizing the bed of Angels Creek. Over the ensuing years the system was improved numerous times, especially after its acquisition by the Utica Gold Mining Company in the late 1880s. Taken over by PG&E in 1946, it has recently been acquired by the Utica Power Authority, a consortium of local water agencies.