South Sutter Water District

What South Sutter Water District does

South Sutter Water District (SSWD) is a public water district organized under the California Water Code, established in 1954 by a majority of landowners within its boundary to develop, store, manage, and distribute surface water across Yuba, Sutter, and Placer counties. The district's core infrastructure is the Camp Far West Reservoir, completed in 1964 with 93,740 acre-feet of storage capacity, which serves as the primary source of surface water for more than 200 landowners across approximately 40,000 acres, with a target annual supply of 80,000+ acre-feet. Distribution occurs through more than 126 miles of irrigation ditches and drainage canals integrated with natural waterways (including Yankee Slough, Ping Slough, Auburn Ravine, and Pleasant Grove Creek), organized into four operating systems maintained by named dam tenders and water tenders. A 6.8 MW hydroelectric facility, built on Camp Far West Dam in 1984, generates power during the irrigation season that is sold to Silicon Valley Power via the Northern California Power Association to help offset operating expenses.

The district's business model is that of a quasi-governmental public utility: recurring water assessments and rates from in-territory agricultural landowners fund operations, while the hydroelectric output provides a usage-based secondary revenue stream. Customers are exclusively agricultural — primarily walnut, rice, and pasture growers, with additional organic rice, corn, grain, and bean producers — and the district is governed by a seven-member board of directors predominantly composed of multi-generational farming families from the service area. The headquarters is in Trowbridge, California (2464 Pacific Avenue), with public board meetings held on the last Thursday of each month. GTM is non-commercial in nature, relying on the district website, monthly public meetings, and direct landowner contact. No revenue figures, headcount, or pricing are publicly disclosed, consistent with its status as a public agency rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

South Sutter Water District

Legal name

South Sutter Water District

Website

https://southsutterwd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

South Sutter Water District is a California public water district, founded in 1954, that delivers 80,000+ acre-feet of surface water annually to more than 200 agricultural landowners across Yuba, Sutter, and Placer counties via the Camp Far West Reservoir and 126+ miles of canals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Irrigation Water Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Hydroelectric Power Generation (221111)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Pump & Well Services for Irrigation (Well Testing, Pump Sizing, Rehab) (AFACAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

Keywords

• Agricultural irrigation services
• Surface water distribution
• Water storage management
• Hydroelectric power generation
• Irrigation district operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Sutter

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Water Supply Services: Surface water supply to over 200 landowners in Yuba, Sutter and Placer counties for agricultural irrigation purposes, primarily serving walnut, rice, and pasture growers
2. Hydroelectric Power Generation Revenue: 6.8 MW hydroelectric facility generates power during irrigation season that is sold to Silicon Valley Power via the Northern California Power Association to offset operating expenses

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

South Sutter Water District is a public water agency that stores, manages, and distributes surface water to more than 200 agricultural landowners across Yuba, Sutter, and Placer counties, drawing from the Camp Far West Reservoir (93,740 acre-feet capacity) and delivering through 126+ miles of irrigation canals and natural waterways. The district also operates a 6.8 MW hydroelectric facility on Camp Far West Dam, with power generation sold to Silicon Valley Power to offset operating expenses.

Product overview

South Sutter Water District operates as a single unified service offering, providing water management services to more than 200 landowners across Yuba, Sutter, and Placer counties. The district's core services work together as an integrated system: Water Storage draws from Camp Far West Reservoir (93,740 acre-feet capacity), Water Delivery distributes via over 126 miles of irrigation canals and natural waterways including Yankee Slough, Ping Slough, and Pleasant Grove Creek, and Power Generation harnesses hydroelectric energy from the dam. The district aims to supply 80,000+ acre-feet of surface water annually, primarily serving agricultural customers including walnut, rice, and pasture growers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Storage Service Water storage service utilizing Camp Far West Reservoir with capacity of 93,740 acre-feet for irrigation purposes, drawing from surface water allocations.
• Water Delivery Service Water delivery service maintaining and monitoring over 126 miles of irrigation ditches and drainage canals across Yuba, Placer, and Sutter counties via unlined canals and natural waterways including Yankee Slough, Ping Slough, Auburn Ravine, and Pleasant Grove Creek.
• Hydroelectric Power Generation Hydroelectric power generation from a 6.8 MW facility built on Camp Far West Dam in 1984, generating power during the irrigation season that is sold to Silicon Valley Power via the Northern California Power Association to offset operating expenses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivers 80,000+ acre-feet of surface water annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Northern California Power AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation through which the district sells power generated from its hydroelectric facility to Silicon Valley Power, facilitating the energy revenue stream that offsets district operating costs.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• East Bay Municipal Utility District: Large California public water utility with reservoir, treatment, and distribution operations; comparable in operating model though focused on municipal rather than agricultural customers — useful as a scale/complexity benchmark.
• Calleguas Municipal Water District: Southern California water district delivering treated and untreated water; broader portfolio than SSWD but comparable in operating as a California public water district with regulated rate-base revenue.

Direct peers

• Turlock Irrigation District: California irrigation district combining surface water delivery to growers with significant hydroelectric generation assets; comparable business mix to SSWD.
• South San Joaquin Irrigation District: Northern California irrigation district providing surface water to agricultural customers via reservoir and canal system with hydroelectric generation — direct structural analog to SSWD.
• Westlands Water District: California irrigation district delivering surface water to agricultural growers in the San Joaquin Valley; comparable to SSWD in its role as a public water district supplying irrigation water to farmers via canal and reservoir infrastructure.
• Central California Irrigation District: Sacramento Valley irrigation district delivering surface water to agricultural landowners; very similar service model to SSWD with comparable crop mix (rice, row crops) and public-district governance.
• Merced Irrigation District: California irrigation district operating Lake McClure reservoir and canal distribution for agricultural customers; comparable hybrid model with surface water delivery plus embedded hydroelectric generation.
• Oakdale Irrigation District: Sierra foothills-to-Valley irrigation district serving agricultural landowners with surface water; closely mirrors SSWD's geography, customer base, and infrastructure profile.

Regional players

• Placer County Water Agency: Placer County-based water agency operating Middle Fork American River Project hydroelectric facilities alongside agricultural and municipal water supply; shares SSWD's Placer County service geography and has both water and power assets.
• San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority: Sacramento Valley entity managing surface water entitlements exchanged for agricultural districts affected by Friant Dam; comparable California agricultural water delivery governance model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-sutter-water-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Sutter Water District