A comprehensive history of the Calaveras Public Utility District was completed in 1999.  From the Foreword:

"...In our part of California, water has never been taken for granted, and may be our area's most precious commodity.  Our towns, our businesses, our homes, and our natural environment are dependent upon the availability of fresh water."  

Beginning with the gold rush, the CPUD history addresses the development of the Mokelumne Hll Canal, documented in more detail in a separate entry on this website.  The richness of the CPUD history is found in the struggle,  which began in the 1930s, to organize, fund, and implement a modern water policy in Calaveras County..  Purchase of the Mokelumne Hill Canal insured the ownership of primary water rights but it took the efforts of numerous citizens to bring reliable water to Mokelumne Hill and San Andreas.