Who We Are

Foothill Municipal Water District (FMWD or Foothill) incorporated on January 7, 1952 to help meet the increased water needs of the rapidly growing foothill communities following the end of World War II.  Water leaders, and ultimately voters, saw the need to supplement local groundwater with water imported by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).  At that time, MWD delivered Colorado River water into the Southern California region for about 10 years through its Colorado River Aqueduct.  Since then, MWD also received water from the California State Water Project in 1972.  Foothill officially joined MWD in 1953 and operates as one of its 26 member agencies.

SERVICE AREA

Foothill Municipal Water District covers about 22 square miles in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, bordered between the City of Pasadena on the east and the City of Glendale on the south and west.  The District serves approximately 80,000 people through its own member agencies.

While a majority of these retail water agencies pump local groundwater, they may purchase additional water from Foothill to meet their demands.  Foothill takes delivery of water from MWD at a connection near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and must pump up into the service area to deliver to its member agencies.  Before reaching Foothill, MWD treats the imported water to drinking water quality standards.

As Foothill once provided only about 20 percent of the water needed to satisfy demand in its service area, today it supplies more than half of the region's annual demand.

COMMUNITIES SERVED