 In 1948, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD) applied for appropriative rights from the State of California to appropriate 260,000 acre-feet of water from the American River basin.This was in order to divert water through Loon Lake and Gerle Creek for purposes of irrigation, stock-watering and domestic use.Originally, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD) had obtained appropriative water rights from the State Water Resources Control Board.