The first water developed on land now served by Sunny Slope Water Company occurred about the year 1821, when the San Gabriel Mission Padres erected a stone dam on what is now La Presa Drive, just north of Huntington Drive. Water was transported to the Mission in adobe flume and was used to irrigate the vineyards & run the machinery in the winery & flour mill.

On May 6, 1839, Hugo Reid applied to the Mexican Republic for a grant to the Rancho Santa Anita Juan B. Alvarado, Constitutional Governor of the Department of California which gave him the grant on April 16, 1841. During this period, Reid lived on the ranch and planted vineyards using water from the stone dam.

In 1847, Henry Dalton bought the Rancho Santa Anita from Hugo Reid. The ranch then contained approximately 13,500 acres. In 1857, Dalton conveyed the rancho to Joseph A. Rowe, who in turn sold it to William H. Corbitt and Albert Dibblee.

During 1861, the partners sold a western portion of   Rancho Santa Anita to Leonard J. Rose. This was the first division of the ranch and comprised about 2,200 acres. He named his ranch Sunny Slope Farm. The farm was irrigated by water from the artesian wells. By 1895, there were twenty-two wells in operation. They produced approximately 2,200 acre feet a year. It is in the same area where present wells of Sunny Slope Water Company are located.

In 1887 L.J.Rose & Company, Ltd., A British Corporation, Purchased Sunny Slope from L.J.Rose for the princely sum of $1,035,000. About this time the owners commenced subdividing the ranch and developing a water system. In 1895, they organized the Sunny Slope Water Company to take over their system and serve water to other ranchers. The deed from the L.J.Rose & Company, Ltd., is recorded in book 1000.

Page 115 of deed, Los   Angeles County. By its terms, the L.J.Rose Company granted to Sunny Slope Water Company the exclusive right to develop water upon a certain 160 acre tract of land where the Corporation’s wells were located. Sunny Slope agreed that it would deliver water to its shareholders in proportion to the number of shares owned in the corporation.

STATEMENT OF POLICY

It is the policy of the Sunny Slope Water Company to provide the finest quality water at the lowest possible rate, and to maintain its facilities commensurate with the income derived from the sale of water. Because of changing economic conditions, the age of the system, and the availability of water, it has become necessary for the Board of Directors to make some changes to the cost of delivering water to the user. Therefore, the following additional policy was adopted by the Board of Directors on September 10, 1972:

1. All Cost associated with the investment required to deliver water to each Shareholder will be recovered through a monthly charge that is proportional to the size of the meter installed to serve the user. 
2. Capital costs of improving and expanding the system in accordance with the Master Plan will be allocated, when required, by assessment against each share of stock outstanding. 
3. The cost of water to the user will be a monthly charge proportional to the quantity used, the number of the shares of stock held, and the current rate structure.