Owens Valley Aquaduct

A detailed Summary of Owens Valley Aquaduct

Two hundred and fifty miles north of the busy streets of Los Angeles, in Inyo County, lay the serene Owens Valley. The Owens Valley is a vast terrain that is bounded by the towering Sierra Nevada mountain range at one end and the barren Death Valley desert at its other end. As the snowfall from the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas annually transforms itself into water, the Owens River drains the downpour and flows profusely through the valley. The Owens Lake would routinely capture this stream and store the river's yearly deposits, but the route of the stream was redirected. In 1905, an avaricious project was contrived by the political agendas of the powerful moguls behind the Los Angeles Water Company, building the Los Angeles Aqueduct.(Davis, Margaret) The project was masterminded by Fred Eaton and William Mulholland to foster the growth of the large metropolis included a larger water supply, and they were willing to achieve their goals by any means necessary. They found their water supply in the Owens Valley. However, the acquisition of the water was surrounded by red tape. Despite the obstacles that stood in their way, the two men found a way to fulfill their vision at expense of the Owens Valley community. Once a fecund and

In 1905, a bond was issued by the city of Los Angeles to provide Mulholland with the millions of dollars funding necessary to build a two hundred and fifty-mile aqueduct that would connect the water source of the Owens Valley to the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was to be built over the course of next eight years. Mulholland took total control in the construction of the aqueduct. He employed thousands and directed them as they blasted out tunnels, carved out sluiceways, cleared roads, laid railroad tracks, and raised up power lines. The waterway was finally completed in 1913, and the vision had been fulfilled. The massive aqueduct started at its northern end and ran right through the valley, and the water that the valley residents had originally thought would irrigate their farmlands instead flowed down and fed the growing population of Los Angeles. Despite Mulholland's dire prediction of imminent water famine, Los Angeles did not find the need to draw all the water from the Owens River.(Mattson, Robert) During the course of the eight years of constructing the aqueduct, the city's population had more than doubled with no evident strain on the regular water supply.

fertile region that was home to many small, prosperous farms and ranches, the Owens Valley has been stripped of its main resource due to the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Then one of the greatest civil disasters in American history took place. The Mulholland built, St. Francis Dam collapsed. This released a fifteen billion gallon flood that scoured a path to the sea two miles wide, and seventy miles long. As a result, five hundred people were found dead, a majority of the dead being Owens Valley residents. Due to the fierce hatred among the disgruntled members of the Owens Valley community for Mulholland, rumors of sabotage began to surface. Mulholland was investigated. Most of the Inyo County was bogged down in the quagmire of Owens Valley. The aftermath of the flood is symbolic of the tragedy behind the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Seventy-seven years following the series of events leading to the tumultuous completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Owens Valley rests with tranquility.(Larson, Ronald) It is now left desiccated. All the water from the Owens River is drained.

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Approximate Word count = 1563
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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