Hello Friends!
Have you ever wondered what inspired well owners here in Wonder Valley to form the Dale Basin Well Owner’s Association? Well, (pun intended!) we have historical information to share with you!
Briefly, the City of Twentynine Palms was over-drafting (pumping more water than the natural recharge could keep up with) a couple of the wells that supplied the city with its water. Residents who lived in Wonder Valley were also drawing from the city’s water supplies through hauling water obtained in 29 Palms to their homes in Wonder Valley. Twentynine Palms had to do something to ensure that the residents of the city would not run out of water.
Some of the options the city considered included annexing part of Wonder Valley (the area from 29 Palms East to Godwin) to gain water rights and also discontinuing water hauling for Wonder Valley Residents (“Ordinance 49”).
Several Wonder Valley residents worked hard to try to find a way to ensure that Wonder Valley would have the water needed to live out here. Groups and associations were formed, and Dale Basin Well Owner’s Association was one of these groups.
The Twentynine Palms Historical Society has archives filled with newspaper articles documenting everything that was happening during that time. It was a very exciting time, and a lot was at stake. After all, water is life in the desert; a home with no water is uninhabitable.
Here are two of the many news stories from 1988 and 1989.
1988-9-22 - Dale Basin Well Owners Meet in Force
1989-2-23 - Informational Meeting to Discuss TPWD Annexation
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