Los Angeles Aqueduct

The aqueduct project began in 1905 when the voters of Los Angeles approved a US$1.5 million bond for the 'purchase of lands and water and the inauguration of work on the aqueduct'. On June 12, 1907 a second bond was passed with a budget of US$24.5 million to fund construction.[9][10]

Construction began in 1908 and was divided into eleven divisions and a cement plant. The number of men who were on the payroll the first year was 2,629 and this number peaked at 6,060 in May 1909. In 1910, employment dropped to 1,150 due to financial reasons but rebounded later in the year. Between 1911 and 1912 employment ranged from 2,800 to 3,800 workers. The number of laborers working on the aqueduct at its peak was 3,900.[11][12][13][14] In 1913, the City of Los Angeles completed construction of the first Los Angeles Aqueduct.

The aqueduct as originally constructed consisted of six storage reservoirs and 215 mi (346 km) of conduit. Beginning 3.5 mi (5.6 km) north of Black Rock Springs, the aqueduct diverts the Owens River into an unlined canal to begin its 233 mi (375 km) journey south to the Lower San Fernando Reservoir.[15] This reservoir was later renamed the Lower Van Norman Reservoir.

The original project consisted of 24 mi (39 km) of open unlined canal, 37 mi (60 km) of lined open canal, 97 mi (156 km) of covered concrete conduit, 43 mi (69 km) of concrete tunnels, 12.00 mi (19.31 km) steel siphons, 120 mi (190 km) of railroad track, two hydroelectric plants, three cement plants, 170 mi (270 km) of power lines, 240 mi (390 km) of telephone line, 500 mi (800 km) of roads[16] and was later expanded with the construction of the Mono Extension and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct.[17]

The aqueduct uses gravity alone to move the water and also uses the water to generate electricity, which makes it cost-efficient to operate.[18] The aqueduct system has been operated safely throughout its history and is still in operation.

Typical construction view of lined canal and covered concrete conduit.

The construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct effectively eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community and eventually devastated the Owens Lake ecosystem.[19] A group labeled the "San Fernando Syndicate" – including Fred Eaton, Mulholland, Harrison Otis (the publisher of The Los Angeles Times), Henry Huntington (an executive of the Pacific Electric Railroad), and other wealthy individuals – were a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley allegedly based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles aqueduct would soon irrigate it and encourage development.[19] Although there is disagreement over the actions of the "syndicate" as to whether they were a "diabolical" cabal or only a group that united the Los Angeles business community behind supporting the aqueduct,[20][21] Eaton, Mulholland and others connected with the project have long been accused of 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.[22] By the 1920s, the aggressive pursuits of the water rights and the diversion of the Owens River precipitated the outbreak of violence. Farmers in Owens Valley attacked infrastructure, dynamiting the aqueduct numerous times and opening sluice gates to divert the flow of water.

In an effort to find more water, the city of Los Angeles reached farther north. In 1930, Los Angeles voters passed a third US$38.8 million bond to buy land in the Mono Basin and fund the Mono Basin extension.[23] The 105 mi (169 km) extension diverted flows from the Rush Creek, Lee Vining Creek, Walker and Parker Creeks that would have flowed into Mono Lake. The construction of the Mono extension consisted of an intake at Lee Vining Creek, the Lee Vining conduit to the Grant Reservoir on Rush Creek, which would have a capacity of 48,000 acre⋅ft (59,000,000 m³), the 12.7 mi (20.4 km) Mono Craters Tunnel to the Owens River and a second reservoir, later named Crowley Lake with a capacity of 183,465 acre⋅ft (226,301,000 m³) in Long Valley at the head of the Owens River Gorge.[24]

Completed in 1940, diversions began in 1941. The Mono Extension has a design capacity of 400 cu ft/s (11,000 L/s) of flow to the aqueduct;[25] however, the flow was limited to 123 cu ft/s (3,500 L/s) due to the limited downstream capacity of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Full appropriation of the water could not be met until the second aqueduct was completed in 1970.[24]

In 1956, the State Department of Water Resources reported that Los Angeles was only exporting 320,000 acre feet (390 million cubic metres) of water of the 590,000 acre⋅ft (730 million m³) available in the Owens Valley and Mono Basin. Three years later, the State Water Rights Board warned Los Angeles that they could lose rights to the water they were permitted for but not appropriating.

Los Angeles Aqueduct System

Faced with the possible loss of future water supply, Los Angeles began the five-year construction of the aqueduct in 1965 at a cost US$89 million.[5] Once the city received diversion permits, water exports jumped in 1970, adding 110,000 AF that year into the aqueduct system. By 1974, exports climbed to 450,000 acre⋅ft (560 million m³) per year.[24]

The 137-mile-long (220 km) aqueduct was designed to flow 290 cu ft/s (8,200 L/s) and begins at the Merritt Diversion Structure at the junction of the North and South Haiwee Reservoirs,[4] south of Owens Lake, and runs roughly parallel to the first aqueduct. Water flows entirely by gravity from an elevation of 3,760 feet (1,150 m) at the Haiwee Reservoir through two power drops to an elevation of 1,200 ft (370 m) at the Upper Van Norman Reservoir.[28]

The Second Aqueduct was not built as a single contiguous conduit. For design and construction purposes the aqueduct was divided into Northern and Southern sections and the two are connected by the San Francisquito Tunnels, which are part of the First Aqueduct.

The Northern Section carries water starting at the North Haiwee Reservoir through the Haiwee Bypass passing around the South Haiwee Reservoir. The flow then continues 115 miles (185 km) south through a series of pressure pipelines and concrete conduits where it connects up with the First Aqueduct at the North Portal of the Elizabeth Tunnel near the Fairmont Reservoir.[29]

The San Francisquito Tunnels (which includes the Elizabeth Tunnel) has a flow capacity of 1,000 cu ft/s (28,000 L/s)[29] and is large enough to handle the flow of both aqueducts. Once the combined flow reaches the penstocks above Power Plant #2, water is diverted into the Southern Section of the second aqueduct away through the Drinkwater Tunnel to the Drinkwater Reservoir.

An updated version of the concrete box construction used on the second aqueduct.

The last segment of pipe, known as the Saugus Pipeline,[30] carries water south past Bouquet Canyon, Soledad Canyon and Placerita Canyon. From there it roughly parallels Sierra Highway before it enters Magazine Canyon towards the Terminal structure and Cascades. Water from the Terminal structure can then flow to either the Cascade or penstock to the Foothill Power Plant and into the Upper Van Norman Reservoir.

In addition to the construction in the Northern and Southern sections, improvements were also made to the lined canal between the Alabama Gates and the North Haiwee Reservoir in the Northern Section that consisted of adding 24 in (610 mm) sidewalls to both sides of the canal and the raising of overcrosses. This work increased the capacity of the lined canal from 710 cu ft/s (20,000 L/s) to 900 cu ft/s (25,000 L/s) cfs.[31]

Between 1909 and 1928, the city of Los Angeles grew from 61 square miles to 440 square miles. This was due largely to the aqueduct, and the city's charter was worded such that it stated the City of Los Angeles could not sell or provide surplus water to any area outside the city.[35][36][37] Outlying areas relied on wells and creeks for water and, as they dried up, the people in those areas realized that if they were going to be able to continue irrigating their farms and provide themselves domestic water, they would have to annex themselves to the City of Los Angeles.[35]

Growth was so rapid that it appeared as if the city of Los Angeles would eventually assume the size of the entire county. William Mulholland continued adding capacity to the aqueduct, building the St. Francis Dam that would impound the waters creating the San Francisquito Reservoir, filed for additional water on the Colorado River and he began sending engineers and miners to clear the heading at the San Jacinto Tunnel that he knew was key to the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct.[38][39]

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 with the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain, built in 1940 at Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz. Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Dam are both named after him.

Many more cities and unincorporated areas would likely have annexed into the city of Los Angeles if the St. Francis Dam had not collapsed. The catastrophic failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 killed an estimated 431 people,[40] flooded parts of Santa Clarita, and devastated much of the Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County.[35][41]

The failure of the dam raised the question in a number of people's minds whether the city had engineering competence and capability to manage such a large project as the Colorado River Aqueduct despite the fact that they had built the Los Angeles Aqueduct.[35] After the collapse, the pace of annexation came to a rapid halt when eleven nearby cities including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, San Marino, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Colton, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino decided to form the Metropolitan Water District with Los Angeles.[42] The city's growth following the formation of the MWD would be limited to 27.65 square miles.[41][43]

The Cascades, which was completed on November 5, 1913, is located near the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard, four miles northwest of San Fernando. It was designated as a California Historical Landmark on July 28, 1958.[44][45]

• 
  Diversion gates that control inflow to the Lower Owens River
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  Intake where water is diverted from the Owens River
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  Water entering the aqueduct at its northern terminus
• 
  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 Terminal Structure and penstock above and alongside the new Cascades on the Los Angeles Aqueduct near Newhall Pass
• 
  Department Surveyors plotting topography for Second Los Angeles Aqueduct.
• 
  Fairmont Mill ruins on the east side of Fairmont Butte. This mill was one of three that the city ran to produce cement for the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
• 
  Chart showing water imports through the Los Angeles Aqueduct system from 1913 through 2011.
• 
  Shangri-La Estates in Ridgecrest, CA was built to provide temporary housing for personnel during the construction of the SLAA.
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  Forming in place for Terminal Structure above the SLAA cascade.
• 
  Pouring concrete for Terminal Structure above the SLAA cascade.

• American Water Landmark
• California Aqueduct
• Colorado River Aqueduct
• State Water Project
• Owensmouth

Notes

Further reading

• Corporation, Bonnier (February 1919). "An Aqueduct Used as an Emergency Highway". Popular Science. 94 (2): 38. ISSN 0161-7370. 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. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
• Nadeau, Remi (1993). The Water Seekers. Santa Barbara: Crest Publishers. ISBN 0-9627104-4-X.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Los Angeles Aqueduct.

• LADWP: official Los Angeles Aqueduct website
• UCLA: Los Angeles Aqueduct Digital Platform
• Los Angeles Aqueduct Landscape Atlas
• Mono Lake Committee Website
• LADWP: History page on William Mulholland
• Los Angeles Aqueduct Slideshow
• The William Mulholland Memorial Fountain
• Image of workers making repairs on a damaged section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in No-Name Canyon, Inyo County vicinity, [about 1927]. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. CA-2664, "Olive Switching Station, 13355 San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA", 17 photos, 27 data pages, 4 photo caption pages