Overview
| Repository | Office of the City Secretary Dallas Municipal Archives 1500 Marilla Street, 5D South Dallas, Texas 75201 |
| Creator | Dallas County Water Control and Improvement Districts 3, 5, and 7 |
| Title | Dallas County Water Control and Improvement Districts 3, 5, and 7 |
| Dates | 1939-1951 |
| Quantity | 6 linear inches |
| Abstract | Records of Dallas County Water Control and Improvement Districts 3, 5, and 7 |
| Identification | 1991-121 |
| Language | Records are in English |
Scope and Content
The City of Dallas plays a significant role in the management of river water and groundwater in Dallas County, Texas. The Trinity River was named during the Spanish colonial era (La Santisima Trinidad), supposedly supplied by explorer Alonso DeLeón in 1690. The river rises in three principal branches: the East Fork, the Elm Fork, and the West Fork. A fourth smaller headstream is known as the Clear Fork. It flows 423 miles from the confluence of the Elm and West forks to the coast, making it the longest river having its entire course in Texas.
The portion of the Trinity flowing through and around the City of Dallas has been connected historically to city government from its early use for commercial transportation to its use as a demarcating line between the northern and southern halves of the city, to its projected use as a recreational area. Dallas founder John Neely Bryan's original town survey used the Trinity as the western boundary, with streets laid out at right angles to the river. Flooding was a major problem in Dallas’ early years, the worst occurring in 1908. The bends in the river were straightened in 1929 and a series of levees built for flood control through a bond program that also included a number of new bridges, finally joining the two halves of the city.
The history of the Trinity River, Dallas groundwater sources, and the City of Dallas is reflected in various local water agencies. The districts administer a number of water programs, including flood control, drainage, navigation, irrigation, domestic, commercial, and industrial water supply, sewage disposal, power supply, groundwater control, soil conservation, and recreation.
Collection contains the minutes of the governing body of Dallas County Water Control and Improvement Districts 3, 5, and 7. The districts were created in the 1920s to give the City and County of Dallas the authority to levy and collect taxes to expand a water distribution system for the city.
Organization
The collection is arranged in chronological order by district.
Access
Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.
Citation
Dallas County Water Control and Improvement Districts 3, 5, and 7, 1939 – 1951 (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives.
Related Materials
Collection 1991-119—Dallas County Fresh Water Supply
Index Terms
Dallas -- Texas -- History.
Water districts -- Texas -- Dallas -- History.
Container List
| 1 | 1 | Minutes Book - Dallas County Water Control and Improvement District No. 3, January 1948-March 13, 1950 |
| 2 | 1 | Minutes Book - No. 1: Dallas County Water Control and Improvement District No. 5, September 2, 1947-August 11, 1948 |
| | 2 | Minutes Book - No. 2: Dallas County Water Control and Improvement District No. 5, September 1, 1948-January 27, 1951 |
| | 3 | Minutes Book - No. 3: Dallas County Water Control and Improvement District No. 5, February 5, 1951-December 29, 1951 |
| 3 | 1 | Minutes Book - Dallas County Water Control and Improvement District No. 7, April 20, 1939-November 6, 1950 |