The Community

Twentynine Palms is a unique Hi-Desert community on the southern boundary of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, just north of the Little San Bernardino and Pinto Mountains. Located 54 miles northeast of Palm Springs at an elevation of 2,000 feet, the area is known for its pure water, crystal clear air and deep blue skies. It is nestled between the largest Marine Corps base in the world, the Marine Corp Air Ground Combat Center to the north, and the Joshua Tree National Park to the south. The National Park attracts over 1.25 million visitors a year from all over the world. The Oasis of Mara, a large group of springs aligned along the Pinto Mountain fault and also bordering Joshua Tree National Park, is a significant archaeological site and was an original source of water to this area for over 4,000 years.

The District

Today the Twentynine Palms Water District serves the city of Twentynine Palms as well as outlying areas by pumping and distributing local ground water - the only available supply. The District serves a population of approximately 17,000 residents within a 87 square mile area. It maintains approximately 7,700 meter services, 200 miles of pipeline and 17 million gallons of water storage capacity. In 1955, when physical operations began, the District served a population of 4,675 residents within an area of 26.7 square miles. The 1,422 meter services were fed by approximately 94 miles of leaky, undersized and substandard pipeline. The community's water storage capacity amounted to less than 200,000 gallons.