- Los Angeles Aqueduct
-
For the historical aqueduct of the 19th century, see Zanja Madre.
Los Angeles Aqueduct
The Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades near SylmarOfficial name Los Angeles Aqueduct
Second Los Angeles AqueductBegins First Aqueduct
Owens River, Inyo County
36°58′32″N 118°12′38″W / 36.975678°N 118.210541°W
Second Aqueduct
Haiwee Reservoir, Inyo County
36°08′07″N 117°57′13″W / 36.135310°N 117.953510°WEnds 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
Second AqueductMaintained 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 14.7 m3 (520 cu ft) per second
8.2 m3 (290 cu ft) per secondConstruction 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 operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.[4] Designed by engineer and LADWP director, William Mulholland, the system delivers water from the Owens River in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains to Los Angeles, California.
Contents
Construction
The project began in 1908 with a budget of US$24.5 million.[5][6][7] 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.[8] The aqueduct uses gravity alone to move water and also uses the water to generate electricity, so it is cost-efficient to operate.[9] The catastrophic failure of the St. Francis Dam, in 1928, flooded the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of Ventura County (resulting in public disgrace for the city of Los Angeles and the end of Mulholland's career),.[10] 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] Mulholland and his associates (known as the "San Fernando Syndicate"),[12] including Los Angeles Times publisher Harrison Gray Otis have been criticized for using deceptive tactics to obtain Bureau of Reclamation rights to the Owens River's flow.[13] Mullholland, his associates, and the City of Los Angeles forced farmers off of the land, using violent tactics to intimidate any farmers who refused to sell land to them. In response to these violent tactics, numerous Owens Valley residents sabotaged and destroyed portions of the aqueduct.[12][14] 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 is named for him as well.
Second Los Angeles Aqueduct
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.[15]
-
The Los Angeles Aqueduct in Antelope Valley
-
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
- American Water Landmark - for the Aqueduct Cascades (awarded 1970)
- California Water Wars
- California Aqueduct
- Colorado River Aqueduct
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey (19 January 1981). "Feature Detail Report: Los Angeles Aqueduct". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). U.S. Department of the Interior. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=116:3:339445792520671::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:253208%2CLos%20Angeles%20Aqueduct. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ 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. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=116:3:339445792520671::NO::P3_FID,P3_TITLE:273623%2CSecond%20Los%20Angeles%20Aqueduct. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
- ^ "Los Angeles Aqueduct Facts". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. 2009. http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp000555.jsp. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ "The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/historyoflaa/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/historyoflaa/constructionbegins.htm
- ^ "A Hundred or a Thousand Fold More Important". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/historyoflaa/hundred.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ * 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. http://books.google.com/books?id=iJZ-AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA568. Retrieved 2009-07-10. Includes construction photos.
- ^ Mulholland, Catherine (2002). William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 141–158. ISBN 0520217241.
- ^ "The Owens Valley Is the Only Source". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/historyoflaa/onlysource.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ Orsi, Jared (2004). Hazardous Metropolis: Los Angeles, Floods, and Urban Ecology. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 69–72. ISBN 0520238508.
- ^ a b Henderson, George (1998). California and the Fictions of Capital. Oxford University Press. pp. 102, 199–201. ISBN 0195108906.
- ^ a b "The Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Owens and Mono Lakes (MONO Case #379)". TED Case Studies (American University) 7 (1). January 1997. http://www.american.edu/ted/mono.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ Arax, Mark and King, Peter H (26 March 2006). "As Dynasty Evolved, So Did Power in L.A.". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-power26mar26,0,7970224,full.story. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ Gig Conaughton (29 April 2006). "Local Professor Weighs in on Water World". The North County Times. http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/04/30/news/top_stories/23_16_204_29_06.prt. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ "A Second Aqueduct". Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/historyoflaa/secondaqueduct.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
Further reading
- Corporation, Bonnier (February 1919). "An Aqueduct Used as an Emergency Highway". Popular Science 94 (2): 38. ISSN 0161-7370. http://books.google.com/?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Service (1916). Complete Report on Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Los Angeles: The Standard Printing Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=7yIWAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- Nadeau, Remi (1993). The Water Seekers. Santa Barbara: Crest Publishers. ISBN 096271044X.
External links
- LADWP Los Angeles Aqueduct web site
- Los Angeles Aqueduct Landscape Atlas
- Mono Lake Website
- LADWP History page on William Mulholland
- Los Angeles Aqueduct Slideshow
- The Wiliiam Mulholland Memorial Fountain
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Lists Downtown Los Angeles • East and Northeast Sides • Harbor Area • Hollywood • San Fernando Valley •
Silver Lake, Angelino Heights and Echo Park • South Los Angeles • Westside • Wilshire and Westlake AreasCategories:- Aqueducts in California
- History of the San Fernando Valley
- Water in California
- History of Los Angeles, California
- History of Los Angeles County, California
- History of Inyo County, California
- Landmarks in Los Angeles, California
- Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley
- Buildings and structures in Inyo County, California
- Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
- Interbasin transfer
- Buildings and structures in Kern County, California
- Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California
-
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.