Los Angeles Aqueduct

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the historical aqueduct of the 19th century, see Zanja Madre.
Los Angeles Aqueduct
Los Angeles Aqueduct
The Second Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades near Sylmar
Official name Los Angeles Aqueduct
Second Los Angeles Aqueduct
Begins First Aqueduct
Owens River, Inyo County
36°58′32″N 118°12′38″W / 36.975678°N 118.210541°W / 36.975678; -118.210541
Second Aqueduct
Haiwee Reservoir, Inyo County
36°08′07″N 117°57′13″W / 36.135310°N 117.953510°W / 36.135310; -117.953510
Ends First Aqueduct
Upper Van Norman Lake (Los Angeles Reservoir), Granada Hills, Los Angeles
34°18′46″N 118°29′35″W / 34.312860°N 118.492988°W / 34.312860; -118.492988
Second Aqueduct
Maintained by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Length 675 km (419 mi)
Diameter 3.7 m (12 ft)
First section length 375 km (233 mi)
Second section length 220 km (140 mi)
Capacity 13.73 m3 (485 cu ft) per second
8.2 m3 (290 cu ft) per second
Construction began 1908; 1965
Opening date 1913; 1970
References [1][2][3]

The Los Angeles Aqueduct system comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.[4] The Owens Valley aqueduct was designed and built by the city's water department, at the time named the The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct, under the supervision of the department's Chief Engineer William Mulholland.[5] The system delivers water from the Owens River in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains to Los Angeles, California.

Contents

Construction [edit]

The project began in 1908 with a budget of US$24.5 million.[6][7][8] With 5,000 workers employed for its construction, the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed in 1913.

The aqueduct consists of 223 mi (359 km) of 12-foot (3.7 m) diameter steel pipe, 120 mi (190 km) of railroad track, two hydroelectric plants, 170 mi (270 km) of power lines, 240 mi (390 km) of telephone line, a cement plant, and 500 mi (800 km) of roads.[9] The aqueduct uses gravity alone to move water and also uses the water to generate electricity, so it is cost-efficient to operate.[10] The catastrophic failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 flooded parts of the present day Santa Clarita Valley and devastated much of the Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County. Although not responsible for the cause of the failure, it brought an end to Mulholland's career. Excluding incidents of sabotage by Owens Valley residents in the early years,[11] the aqueduct system has been operated safely throughout its history and is still in operation.

The construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct effectively eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community, and devastated the Owens Lake ecosystem.[11] A group known as the "San Fernando Syndicate",[12] a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles aqueduct would soon irrigate it, as well as Fred Eaton, Mulholland and others connected with the project have long been criticized for using deceptive tactics and underhanded methods to obtain water rights and block the Bureau of Reclamation from building water infrastructure for the residents in Owens Valley.[13] By the 1920s, the aggressive pursuits of the water rights and the diversion of the Owens River precipitated the outbreak of violence known as the California Water Wars. Farmers in Owens Valley attacked infrastructure, dynamiting the aqueduct numerous times and opening sluice gates to divert the flow of water.

The aqueduct's water provided developers with the resources to quickly develop the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles through World War II. Mulholland's role in the vision and completion of the aqueduct and the growth of Los Angeles into a large metropolis is recognized and well-documented. The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain, built in 1940 and located at Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Blvd. in Los Feliz is dedicated to his memory and contributions. Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Dam are named for him as well.

Second Los Angeles Aqueduct [edit]

The second Los Angeles Aqueduct starts at the Haiwee Reservoir, just south of Owens Lake, running roughly parallel to the first aqueduct. Unlike the original, it does not operate solely via gravity and requires pumping to operate. It carries water 137 mi (220 km) and merges with the original aqueduct near the Cascades, visibly located on the east side of the Golden State Freeway near the junction of State Route 14. Construction cost for the five year project that began in 1965 was US$89 million.[14]

  • Intake where water is diverted from the Owens River

  • The Los Angeles Aqueduct in Antelope Valley

  • Holt tractors at work during construction of the first aqueduct in 1909

  • Unlined section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, just south of Manzanar, near US Highway 395

  • The Cascades on the Los Angeles Aqueduct near Newhall Pass

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Los Angeles Aqueduct". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2009-03-19. 
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Second Los Angeles Aqueduct". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2009-03-19. 
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Aqueduct Facts". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2012-09-14. 
  4. ^ "The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  5. ^ "DWP - Name Change Chronology". Water and Power Associates. 
  6. ^ "Construction Begins". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2012-09-13. 
  7. ^ "A Hundred or a Thousand Fold More Important". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  8. ^ Heinly, Burt A. (July 1910). "Carrying Water Through A Desert: The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct". The National Geographic Magazine XXI (7): 568–596. Retrieved 2009-07-10.  Includes construction photos.
  9. ^ Mulholland, Catherine (2002). William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 141–158. ISBN 0-520-21724-1. 
  10. ^ "The Owens Valley Is the Only Source". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  11. ^ a b Henderson, George (1998). California and the Fictions of Capital. Oxford University Press. pp. 102, 199–201. ISBN 0-19-510890-6. 
  12. ^ "The Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Owens and Mono Lakes (MONO Case #379)". TED Case Studies (American University) 7 (1). January 1997. Retrieved 2012-09-13. 
  13. ^ Davis, ML (1993). Rivers in the Desert. e-reads. ISBN 978-1-58586-137-8. 
  14. ^ "A Second Aqueduct". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 

Further reading [edit]

External links [edit]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Los_Angeles_Aqueduct&oldid=553241767"