In September of 1966 voters unanimously approved the formation of Public Water Supply District #4 of Cole County. By April 1, 1968, water service was available to 165 customers in the Taos and Osage City area. District Water was supplied from a 950 foot deep well and a 30,000 gallon water tower both located at the intersection of Route M and Shamrock Road. The system was financed through a $200,000 bond issue approved by District residents.
The founding Board of Directors consisted of Joe Rackers, President; Howard Forbis, Vice President; along with Monroe Hofmann, George Carleton, and Robert Looten.
Over the last forty years, the District has constructed additional wells and water storage as well as water lines to better serve our customers. Today, the District provides water service to 1,200 customers supplied by four deep rock wells ranging from 1,000 to 1,100 feet in depth, four water storage tanks containing 1,800,000 gallons and maintains 74 miles of water main. In 2017 the District sold over 260,000,000 gallons of water to its customers.