Owens Valley Aqueduct 1

The Death of the Owens Valley

Water Wars
A KNX Los Angeles special report.

(Click on the picture to hear the report)

The Despoiler	The Concessionaire	The Betrayer

William Mulholland (1855 - 1935)	Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)	Fred Eaton (1856 - 1934)

Owens Valley Aqueduct

Unless otherwise note, all L.A. aqueduct photographs on these pages are from the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Papers, LIPP, The Water Resources Center Archives, University of California,
Berkeley or public domain archival files.

A note from the web site owner.

I must admit that I am a bit sensitive when it comes to this particular topic of water and Owens Valley. Having worked in the valley as a packer for Mt. Whitney Pack Trains for a number of years, in the 1960s - 1970s, I was able to experience first hand what a nearly complete lack of water will do to such an otherwise majestic area. It is even more disturbing when you realize that there is all of this water draining off of the adjacent mountains into Owens Valley. It is not enough that the valley's mountain water is siphoned off and sent to Los Angeles, but so is a great deal of its ground water. In a valley where once there were rich farm lands with a thriving agricultural business and a lake 20 miles in length there is now only a memory and an ever present alkali dust cloud. If you remember the movie Ben Hur you'll remember a quote which Pontius Pilate made to Judah Ben Hur just after Judah defeated Masalla in one of the greatest chariot races of all time: "Where there is greatness, great government or power, even great feeling or compassion, error also is great. We progress and mature by fault." The Owens Valley Aqueduct is, without question, one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time, for that, Mulholland should have received much more recognition than he ever did; however, whether or not the aqueduct should have ever been built and the political chicanery involved with its construction is an entirely different matter. Since I readily admit my bias in the matter, I encourage you to read and investigate the other sources I have referenced and link to throughout these few pages. They represent all view points.

Your viewpoints are welcomed in either my guest book or by e-mailing me below.

"Myth, History and Water in the Eastern Sierra"[pdf]
by Abraham Hoffman
Abraham's e-mail: hoffmaaz@lavc.edu

Portraits of one of the greatest engineering geniuses of our time and who, along with Fred Eaton, robbed Owens Valley of its greatest natural resource. William Mulholland


Mt. Dana (L. Huber photo)	Lining the aqueduct LIPP 141:304	Hauling pipe sections into place	Workers camp LIPP 141:107
	(Photographs courtesy of the Joseph Barlow Lippincott Papers, LIPP, The Water Resources Center Archives, University of California, Berkeley.)

The unholy triumvirate: Joseph B. Lippincott, Fred A. Eaton, and William Mulholland
(1906 Los Angeles Times Photo)

Construction of the LA Aqueduct Part 1

Construction of the LA Aqueduct Part 2

Construction of the aqueduct from Owens Valley to Los Angeles began in the first decade of the 20th century. It was considered one of the engineering marvels of the era, rivaling the Panama Canal. The movie "Chinatown" is based on the project but reset in the 1930s.. The movie version is highly fictionalized but well worth the viewing.

Hauling goods on the Mojave Desert

52 mule team hauling a section of pipe.

Under construction in Owens Valley

Watterson Brothers Bank

Interior view of Inyo County Bank in the days before the bust. Referred to by many as the "Watterson Brothers Bank." From left to right: Mark Q. Watterson, cashier; W.W. Watterson, president; and A.D. Schively.

Los Angeles Aqueduct from Owens Valley to
Los Angeles

	Ghosts of the Past 3 - Bruce Morgan's 49ers
	20-Mule-Team History
	Manzanar Internment Camp Portraits, History etc.
	Aubrey Hemming Manzanar Journal
.	More Owens Valley Aqueduct Portraits & History
	Mt. Whitney Pack Trains 1950s Brochure
	Bessie Brady Steamer

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This page was last updated on 19 April 2008