Jobs at Otay | Contact Us | Search  
   

 
  Home > About > Otay History
Otay History

OTAY'S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

 
On an overcast summer day in 1955, a plumber, a civil engineer, an attorney, a newspaper publisher and two owners of large tracts of land gathered for lunch at Christie's Restaurant in Chula Vista. They met to discuss how they could bring life-giving water to an arid region of southeastern San Diego County. By the end of the day, they had a common vision, about a thousand dollars to spend, and the framework for what later became the Otay Municipal Water District. In 1956, the District was authorized by the State Legislature and gained its entitlement to imported water.

When compared to most water agencies, the Otay Water District is a youngster. During this relatively short time span, however, the availability of water helped transform this District from over 125 square miles of mostly scrub and cactus-covered back country, into a wonderful blend of diverse environments shared by both man and nature.

Today, the District serves the needs of a growing population by purchasing their water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Otay takes delivery of the water through several connections to large diameter pipelines owned and operated by the San Diego County Water Authority. Also, for almost as long as it has been delivering potable water, the Otay Water District has collected and reclaimed wastewater generated within the Jamacha drainage basin and pumped the reclaimed water south to the Salt Creek basin where it is used for irrigation and other non-potable uses.
  
Otay's first Headquarters (ca. 1956).
Located at 427 Third Ave, Chula Vista.
Otay's Second Headquarters (ca. 1961).
Located at 737 Third Ave, Chula Vista.
Otay's Third Headquarters (ca. 1962). Located at our present site demolished as part of the expansion.
Otay's Fourth Headquarters (1963).
Otay's Fifth Headquarters (1974) Located on our present site, remodeled as part of expansion
Otay's current headquarters at
2554 Sweetwater Springs Blvd.
The building was constructed in 1997

For the Otay Water District, the next years promise to be as eventful and interesting as the the early years. Responsible resource planning, sound fiscal management, respect for the environment and paying close attention to our customers' needs will all be necessary to ensure Otay's future looks as good as its history. Christie's Restaurant is gone now, but not forgotten -- because the Otay Water District is here to stay.
 


© 2007 Otay Water District. All rights reserved.