Overview
| Repository | Office of the City Secretary Dallas Municipal Archives 1500 Marilla Street, 5D South Dallas, Texas 75201 |
| Creator | Dallas County Fresh Water Supply Districts |
| Title | Dallas County Fresh Water Supply Districts |
| Dates | 1926-1929 |
| Quantity | Six linear inches |
| Abstract | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence regarding Dallas County Fresh Water Supply Districts 9 and 2. |
| Identification | 1991-119 |
| 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 records concerning the creation of and early payments into two water supply districts. The districts were created by municipal election in the 1920s to give the City of Dallas the authority to levy and collect taxes to expand a water distribution system for the city.
Organization
The collection is arranged by vouchers and receipts in chronological order.
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 Fresh Water Supply Districts, 1927-1929 (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives
Related Materials
Collection 1991-120—Dallas Flood and Levee Control Districts
Index Terms
Dallas -- Texas -- History
Water districts -- Texas -- Dallas -- History
Container List
| 1 | 1 | Receipts for payment - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1929 |
| | 2 | Receipts for payment - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1927-1929 |
| | 3 | Receipts for payment - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1926-1927 |
| | 4 | Receipts for payment - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1927-1928 |
| | 5 | Receipts for payment - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1928-1929 |
| 2 | 1 | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Nine, 1927-1929 |
| | 2 | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Two, 1927-1928 |
| | 3 | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Two, 1928-1929 |
| | 4 | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Two, 1927 |
| | 5 | Vouchers, receipts, and correspondence - Dallas County Fresh Water Supply District Number Two, 1927-1929 |