About the District

North of the River Municipal Water District (NORMWD) was formed in 1969 to provide wholesale delivery of State Water Project supply to the community of Oildale.

The District, being a governmental entity, used low-interest water bonds to install an infrastructure that includes two 4.5 million-gallon reservoirs, two 1.9 million-gallon reservoirs, and two 1.2 million-gallon reservoirs at various elevations in the District.  In addition, there are many miles of pipelines and other necessary facilities, including turnouts, pressure-reducing stations, and relief valves.

NORMWD provided wholesale water to Oildale Mutual Water Company and Highland Park Public Utility District, using the infrastructure described above.  In the early 1980's, Highland Park Public Utility District requested that North of the River Municipal Water District be made responsible for their retail customers and facilities. That consolidation was completed in 1982. And as of July 1, 2014, NORMWD integrated its retail service with Oildale Mutual Water Company, leaving NORMWD as the Wholesale agency once again.

The increasing demand for water in North of the River's Oildale community, as well as the entire Bakersfield area, brought together the North of the River Municipal Water District, East Niles Community Services District, California Water Service, and the City of Bakersfield to enter into a 2005 agreement with Kern County Water Agency to double the size of the Henry C. Garnett Water Purification Plant.  This expansion also included other improvements that doubled the size of the transmission pipeline to the District's reservoirs and increased the electrical power supply, in part by constructing a 1 million megawatt solar electrical generation facility, lowering costs to our customers.

The 2005 agreement between the North of the River Municipal Water District and the Kern Water Agency provided improvements. It included a commitment by NORMWD to purchase an additional 6,500 acre-feet of treated water per year from the agency, bringing the District's total supply to 15,000 acre-feet per year.  This commitment includes an increasing delivery schedule that begins in 2012, with a commitment of 10,600 acre-feet of treated water. It will continue to increase each year, reaching a total of 15,000 acre-feet of fresh, clean water.

This commitment on the part of NORMWD ensured water for North of the River's Oildale families and businesses into the future.  Revenue to operate the District and to meet the committed contract obligations is/was met with user charges to NORMWD's retail customers, property tax revenue, and the Wholesale Contract with Oildale Mutual Water Company.