User:Aaron Sabin/sandbox

The Sacramento Department of Utilities is a public utility that serves the City of Sacramento. It maintains and provides water to Sacramento residents, manages the sewage and provides storm water drainage services.

History
Sacramento, prior to the development of a water works system, distributed water to its citizens from the Sacramento River. The water was pumped from the river into wooden tanks, which would then be distributed to the population via carts. After an epidemic of cholera in 1850 and a fire that destroyed large parts of Sacramento, work began on a water works system, which was completed in 1854. This system, however, proved to be inadequate and in 1873 the direct pumping system was established.

The Sacramento Department of Utilities, initially known as Sacramento City Water Works, was founded in 1873.