Witt Utility District

History of Witt Utility District

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In 1959, Arnold Allen, Lynn Rouse, Herbert Collins, and John Wallace met to discuss the need for potable water for the Witt community. From this meeting, Witt Utility District was established. Starting from nothing, Witt Utility accrued 24 miles of pipe and 680 customers by 1995. In 1995, the acting manager John Wallace announced his retirement, so the new board members James T. Rouse, Arnold Allen, and Roger Minnich hired Terry Harris to be the new general manager. The ambitious manager began extending new pipeline throughout the Witt community. In 1999, Witt Utility expanded into Jefferson County to merge with several small water systems, including the city of Baneberry. By 2001, Witt constructed its new office and work center. Growing water operations led to the need of a new water treatment plant to serve current and any future needs. Terry led the construction of the new 5.5 million gallon per day facility, which features three independent raw water sources. The facility also has backup power generators for the water plant and all other pumping stations for the preparation of any future power losses. By 2020, Witt Utility grew to 2,200 customers, close to 152 miles of pipeline with 78% of the system’s original infrastructure replaced, and the addition of another 1.5 million gallons of storage capacity. Witt has prepared itself to be able to accommodate residential, commercial, and industrial water needs.