Mojave Water Agency

Biographical Note

The creation of the Mojave Water Agency was made possible through an enabling act prepared by attorney William J. Johnstone (who would later become the MWA’s first attorney) and the Mojave-Antelope Water Agency Committee. Introduced by State Senator Stanford C. Shaw, the bill gave the people of the High Desert the right to determine water policies for the Mojave River. On July 18, the bill was signed into law by Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown.

The members of the formation committee for the Mojave Water Agency included M. Penn Phillips, Hesperia; Newton T. Bass, Apple Valley; Robert J. Speth, Daggett; Harold V. Smith, Helendale; Henry W. Balsinger, Hinkley; Mayor George Oakes, Barstow; Edward A. Rodeman, secretary, Victorville; William J. Johnstone, legal adviser, Victorville; E.F. Dibble, engineering adviser, Redlands.

In June of 1960 the people voted overwhelmingly to form the Mojave Water Agency, casting 2,860 votes in favor, with only 606 votes in opposition.Because the economy of the high desert in 1960 was based primarily on farming and ranching, a majority of the MWA’s first board of directors were farmers and ranchers.

The passage of the Water Act authorized the state to issue nearly $2 billion in bonds. Property owners within the MWA service area were obligated to pay their fair share of the costs of constructing the California Aqueduct. To meet fiscal requirements from the 1960 state-wide bond, the MWA began assessing property owners a tax referred to as Debt One. In 1961 the Agency’s Board of Directors consisted of 11 members, seven elected and four appointed. As the board wrestled with the new problems arising from the fledgling agency, several key questions and issues emerged.

Taken from http://www.mojavewater.org/home/about/aboutHistContent.aspx on 9/17/2009

From the guide to the Mojave Water Agency Collection, Water Resources Collection, 1960-1970, (Claremont Colleges. Honnold/Mudd Library.)