History of Rand Communities Water District
On April 8, 1969, the Kern County Board of Supervisors declared the formation of Rand Communities County Water District. A certified copy of the Kern County Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 69-246 was filed with the California Secretary of State on April 22, 1969 and the Secretary of State declared the District to be duly incorporated according to the laws of the State of California. On December 5, 1980, the name was shortened to Rand Communities Water District by the District’s board of directors per Resolution No. 1-1980.
The district encompasses approximately 314 square miles, or 200,900 acres. The towns served are Randsburg, Johannesburg, Red Mountain and Atolia. The District currently has two working wells, Prather Well 1 and Prather Well 2, located in the Fremont Valley. A third well is still in the construction phase and waiting on a grant.
Water is currently supplied through Prather Well 2, as the arsenic levels in Prather Well 1 exceed California’s current maximum allowed level of arsenic in drinking water of 10 ppb. Prather Well 2’s arsenic levels average close to the maximum.
Water is pumped from Prather Well 2, through three booster pumps of a distance of approximately six miles and lifted approximately 2000 feet to the storage tank in between Randsburg and Johannesburg. That storage tank then feeds water to the two storage tanks in Red Mountain. There are 41 hydrants and approximately 260 active water meters.