By Rebecca Gold Rubin, Public Outreach Coordinator, Soquel Creek Water District
What do a devastating flood, a “Tadpole Water Company,” a building constructed six feet below the road, and an advanced water purification project have in common?
On October 16, the District turns 65. To mark the occasion, we’ve been looking back through our newly updated History of the Soquel Creek Water District — and it turns out our story has a few twists and turns that even longtime customers may not know.
Too Much Water?
For starters, our story begins with too much water.
Just before Christmas in 1955, more than a foot of rain fell in the Soquel Creek watershed in just three days.
Flooding in February, 1940, on Soquel’s Main St. • Courtesy of SqCWD
Logs and debris jammed behind the Soquel Drive bridge, sending the creek into downtown Soquel, breaking windows, destroying homes and businesses, and severely damaging the bridge. Property damage in Soquel and Capitola was estimated at more than $1 million.
The devastating flood renewed efforts to address flood protection along Soquel Creek and ultimately helped set the stage for creation of the District. In fact, when the Soquel Creek County Water District was formed in 1961, it was established for two purposes: water conservation and flood control.
At the time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was studying a dam on Soquel Creek that could do double duty — help alleviate winter flooding while also providing a reliable source of drinking water. The dam was never built, and flood-control responsibilities eventually shifted to other local agencies. The District’s focus increasingly turned to developing and improving the community’s drinking water system.
From “Tadpole” to Water District
And those early years were pretty humble.
So humble, in fact, that some residents affectionately referred to the fledgling agency as the “Tadpole Water Company.”
Even our headquarters has a quirky piece of history. When it was constructed in 1971, the building was purposely built about six feet below the existing level of Soquel Drive because District leaders knew the road would eventually be lowered. What may have looked like an odd decision at the time turned out to be some very good planning.
That idea — looking beyond today’s needs — appears again and again in our history.
A New Challenge Underground
Over time, the challenge facing our community shifted from building enough infrastructure to understanding whether the groundwater beneath us could support our needs over the long term. New science and monitoring eventually confirmed that groundwater levels had fallen too low and seawater intrusion threatened our community’s water supply.
Once again, the District had to adapt.
From Flood Control to Groundwater Replenishment
After years of studying alternatives, planning and community engagement, the District developed Pure Water Soquel, an advanced water purification and groundwater replenishment project. The Board approved the project in 2018, setting in motion years of design, funding and construction. In late 2025, Pure Water Soquel began replenishing the groundwater basin.
Think about that evolution: a District whose story began with plans to control water flowing through Soquel Creek is now putting highly purified water back into the ground to help protect our community’s groundwater supply.
And there are many more stories where these came from.
Celebrating 65 Years — and Looking Ahead
As part of our 65th anniversary, we’ve updated the District’s history book to tell the story from 1961 through 2025.
Ken Izant • 1971
The new edition combines historian Sandy Lydon’s original account of 1961–1988 with a new second part by Malcolm Smith covering 1989–2025 — including groundwater sustainability, seawater intrusion, changing water-quality regulations and the development of Pure Water Soquel. The complete history book will soon be available on our website for anyone interested in taking a deeper dive into our past.
Of course, a 65th anniversary isn’t only about looking backward. Today we’re monitoring the groundwater basin’s response to Pure Water Soquel, replacing aging infrastructure, meeting evolving water-quality requirements, working with regional partners and planning for an uncertain climate future.
The technology may have changed dramatically since 1961, but one responsibility hasn’t: looking ahead and preparing for what comes next.
And now it’s time to celebrate!
Join us Friday, October 16, from 5–8 p.m. at Sante Adairius, 103 Kennedy Drive in Capitola, for live music, cake and treats, food available for purchase, and the debut of a special Pure Water Soquel beer created for the occasion.
Come raise a glass with us to 65 years of history — and the next chapter still to come.