Hitt helped bring San Diego Aqueduct water to Rainbow

Before he moved to Rainbow in 1946, Bill Hitt worked as a fisherman and was in the Coast Guard during World War II. In an unpaid capacity, although using his professional connections, Hitt helped bring potable water from the San Diego Aqueduct to Rainbow.

Hitt was born in Murrieta. His family had purchased property in Rainbow in 1929, and Hitt has been a permanent resident since 1946. "I just got back from Okinawa," he said.

After his discharge Hitt obtained a job as a surveyor for the Department of the Navy, which includes the United States Marine Corps as well as the Coast Guard during wartime.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California was building the San Diego Aqueduct, and the Navy was building a barrel of the aqueduct to serve Camp Pendleton. "The first barrel was being built at that time and that goes through Rainbow and I got a job on it. I was a surveyor," Hitt said.

Rainbow did not have its own water system at the time. "There was nothing there. It was all wells," Hitt said.

Hugh Pashall was one of the Rainbow's growers. "He had about a 50-foot well," Hitt said. "It was about the deepest one in the valley."

Most of the wells were less than 30 feet deep. The wells in Rainbow were all hand-dug at the time. "We had no drilled wells," Hitt said.

A drought in the mid-1940s caused those wells to dry up or to pump down quickly and take at least a day to recover. "They were dry. Most of the shallow wells were dry. Some of them would recover overnight, but nothing was sufficient to keep them alive," Hitt said.

Rainbow had about 200 residents at the time. "The Grange was the only thing in the valley at that time," Hitt said.

The Rainbow Grange had between 30 to 40 members at the time. "Probably half the members were involved somewhat with agriculture as growers," Hitt said.

During a Grange meeting in early 1947 several local growers including Pashall, John Goodman, Rowland Schultz, and Warren Troupe suggested that a committee look into outside sources of water to supplement the well. The report at the following meeting was that the only viable sources of outside water were the Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey rivers and Rainbow had no chance of receiving water from those bodies.

"I was the youngest person in the whole group," Hitt said. "I knew that there was nothing available in either the Santa Margarita or the San Luis Rey River."

Cost was one factor which prevented Rainbow from receiving water from one of the rivers. "Running pipes from either side to Rainbow would have been prohibitive," Hitt said.

Hitt was also aware of Camp Pendleton's water rights from the Santa Margarita River. "That was locked up. We had no chance of getting any water," Hitt said.

Additionally, Rainbow had no storage facilities to accommodate the water. "Nothing but the ground well," Hitt said.

Grange member Ellis Grover had a well south of the valley near Mission Road and what is now the Interstate 15 interchange, and Grover offered household water from his well. Ralph Noble lived at the top of Rainbow Heights and offered to haul water from Grover's well to any Grange member for the cost of gas. The next Grange meeting included discussion of a proposed Rainbow Public Utility District. "We had to have a name and that's what we called ourselves, but it was not a legal organization in a true sense," Hitt said.

Ronald Blankenship was selected to be the chair of the Rainbow Public Utility District and his wife, Lorna, was chosen to be the secretary.

The Colorado River Aqueduct extension to San Diego County involved the United States Navy, and the San Diego Aqueduct was going to run through Rainbow. Pashall asked Hitt if he could talk to his Navy contacts. "He knew I was a surveyor," Hitt said.

Hitt was willing to take a role. "I went to my boss who was the chief of surveys and asked him a simple question: 'Who would I see?'," he said.

Jack Samson was the chief of surveys and Frank Hines was the Navy's project engineer. "I went to Jack Samson and he took me to Commander Hines," Hitt said.

Hitt was directed to the Navy project headquarters about two blocks from the survey office on East Vista Way. "My boss walked me over there and stated my little problem and turned me over to Commander Hines," Hitt said.

The Grange members had not seriously discussed connecting to the aqueduct; at one of the earlier meetings long-time Grange member Clarence Mitchell indicated that the Colorado River had a high salt content which would be detrimental to the soil and crops. "He was totally opposed to the idea of getting aqueduct water. He said it was salty and would kill the trees," Hitt said.

The next time the concept of Rainbow receiving water from the aqueduct was brought up was when Blankenship informed the group that Bill Heald, the Fallbrook Public Utility District representative to the San Diego County Water Authority, had been telling residents around town that Rainbow would never receive any water from the aqueduct as long as Heald was on the SDCWA board.

Blankenship heard about Heald's comments from Fallbrook Hardware Store employee Frank Parkinson. "He probably knew that Frank had a lot of friends and would tell us," Hitt said. "We hadn't even talked about the aqueduct."

Hines asked Hitt to tell the story about Rainbow's efforts to obtain water, including Heald's comments. "He just listened to me and picked up the phone and dialed a number," Hitt said.

"He handed the phone to me and said: 'He wants to talk to you.' I introduced myself and he said: 'I'm Bob Diemer, chief engineer and general manager of the Metropolitan Water District.'," Hitt said. "I was totally surprised, taken aback."

Hitt then told Diemer about the Rainbow Public Utility District, Heald's remarks, and other facts about the community's water situation. "I had to retell him the whole story," Hitt said.

"I told him what Bill Heald had said and he said: 'That sounds like a big toad in a little pond.'," Hitt said.

Diemer told Hitt that he was acquainted with the Rainbow area but didn't realize that the drought was so severe and that it was inconceivable that a major water line could pass through a drought-stricken area without providing that area with access to water. "He said: 'I'll tell you right now, Bill, you're going to get water. If they won't give it to you, we will.'," Hitt said.

The San Diego Aqueduct is owned and maintained both by the Metropolitan Water District and the SDCWA. The agreement was that MWD would be responsible for the northern half and the CWA would provide for the southern half. The specific boundary had not yet been established; the San Luis Rey River made the most geographical sense although for political reasons the CWA wanted to take control at the Riverside County line. The final decision placed the point where the CWA takes over from MWD at the south tunnel portal just north of the San Luis Rey River, approximately six miles south of the county line.

"He said: 'I guarantee you will get water.'," Hitt said. "I thanked him very much."

Diemer told Hitt that if the division was at the San Luis Rey River MWD would deliver water at the Fallbrook/Oceanside takeoff junction in Rainbow but that if the division was at the county line Rainbow could tap the aqueduct at that point. Diemer also noted that MWD does not sell to individuals so Rainbow would need to organize as a water district, including possibly a mutual water company rather than a public agency, and that Rainbow would be responsible for its own government and infrastructure. Diemer also told Hitt that MWD would help Rainbow with the organization of the agency.

"He was easy to talk to, very intelligent," Hitt said.

Hitt returned the phone to Hines. "Commander Hines was smiling," Hitt said.

Hitt told Hines that Diemer had guaranteed water for Rainbow. "Frank Hines said: 'I thought he would.'," Hitt said.

Jake Holmgren was the general manager of the County Water Authority. "I'm sure that Bob Diemer called him as soon as I hung up the phone," Hitt said. "He probably repeated to him verbatim our discussion."

Hitt thanked Hines and then returned to the survey office, where he thanked Samson for his involvement. After completing his workday Hitt then returned home and told his wife, Ruth, about the conversations. Rainbow did not have phone service at the time, so Bill and Ruth Hitt then drove to Schultz's house to tell Schultz about Diemer's promise of water. Bill Hitt then drove to Blankenship's house and informed Blankenship.

"Ronald Blankenship showed up a few days later and he had a grin on his face," Hitt said.

Blankenship told Hitt about his visitor from the County Water Authority who had promised emergency water as soon as it was available. Blankenship also noted the CWA's offer of help for Rainbow to organize a mutual water company including the conditions. "We could not use the name Rainbow. We could use Vallecitos, which was really the name of the valley anyway, and Bill Hitt could not be on your board," Hitt said. "I had no plans of being on the board, anyway."

The conditions also included that Rainbow would be responsible for pipes, meters, and other infrastructure, and there was no condition against Hitt helping with the infrastructure.

"Jake Holmgren was a non-nonsense guy," Hitt said.

Delivery from the San Diego Aqueduct began in November 1947. (The pipeline serving Fallbrook and Oceanside was completed in 1948.)

"We were getting close to water time," Hitt said.

"We all got together and ponied up some money to buy pipe and water meters," Hitt said. "A couple of fellows volunteered to do the welding."

Mitchell's opposition was overcome by rational discussion rather than by use of higher-level decision-makers. "He was totally opposed to it, but Hugh Pashall said: 'Other areas are using that water, so it's not that bad.'," Hitt said.

No design or engineering took place before the 3/4-inch, one-inch, and two-inch black iron pipe was installed. "Highway 395 was the only paved road in the whole area," Hitt said.

Hitt lived on Fifth Street. "It was all dirt," he said.

Hitt served his own house with 3/4-inch pipe. "That's all I needed," he said.

"When we put in the emergency water lines, we didn't have any trouble with right-of-way, we just crossed the dirt streets," Hitt said. "We crossed Highway 395 by using culverts."

The paved road was addressed by shoving pipes through culverts underneath U.S. Highway 395. The pipe connecting Rainbow to the aqueduct was placed on top of the ground through backfields, along roads, and through culverts.

"All of the guys who were involved in wanting water helped on the project," Hitt said.

"We were ready with our temporary pipeline. When they turned the spigot on, we had water," Hitt said. "The project was not over in all respects, but the water was flowing."

The builders recognized that the pipeline was temporary. "Then we started raising money so we could put in permanent lines," Hitt said. "That pipeline served us for about two years."

The Vallecitos Mutual Water Company was able to raise the funds to replace the emergency supply pipes with larger mains placed underground and adjacent to streets. The improvements also included better valve control, anti-backflow valves at meters, and hydrants to fill fire trucks.

"If it hadn't been for somebody like Hugh Pashall, they probably wouldn't have made it," Hitt said.

The Rainbow Municipal Water District was formed in 1953 to serve the Bonsall Heights Water District (which remained a separate retail agency until it was dissolved in 1975) and the Vallecitos, Cononita, Morro, San Luis Rey Heights, and Yucca mutual water companies.

Hitt was also involved with the new pipeline as part of his professional surveying activity. "I was on the job until February of '48, but the water was flowing," he said. "A few months after the job ended, I went to work for Jake. He had no qualms about hiring Bill Hitt."

As Hitt's Camp Pendleton work was winding down, Hines suggested that Hitt seek employment with the CWA. "Frank said: 'Go see Jake Holmgren.'," Hitt said. "I didn't think they would have me."

Holmgren hired Hitt for line inspection and maintenance work. "He hired me on the spot," Hitt said. "He just laughed about all the stuff."

Hitt worked for Steve Gayle, who was the CWA's superintendent of maintenance. "He was an old friend of Jake Holmgren," Hitt said.

Joe Lester was the CWA's surveyor and recommended Hitt to Holmgren.

Hitt attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the San Diego Aqueduct in 1997. Lester was also present at the 50th anniversary commemoration. "We had a good meeting there," Hitt said.

Hitt later became a utility lineman and joined two others in that capacity. "I only lasted four or five months," Hitt said.

"After I was hired I found they were having a civil war. They hated each other," Hitt said. "Each one was pulling on me to be on their side."

Lester took over as the superintendent of maintenance after Gayle retired. "Had I been able to tough it out, I'd have liked to work for Joe. He was a good man," Hitt said.

Hitt had been trained as a Coast Guard firefighter while stationed at Los Angeles Harbor. "We went to two fires and they were both building fires," he said.

His firefighting background allowed Hitt to leave the CWA for a position with the Camp Pendleton Fire Department, where he served for 14 years. His civil engineering background allowed him to spend the next ten years as a construction estimator and construction engineer. "During that time I got my own license, contractor's license, and I never did much about it," he said.

Hitt then worked for the City of Vista. "Stayed there for ten years and was old enough to retire and never looked back. Here I am many years later, 91 years old, and enjoying life," he said.