The Owens Valley, in Inyo County, stretches about 100 miles, bounded by the Sierra Nevadas
and the Inyo Range; it is approximately 250 miles from Los Angeles. Encapsulating the enormous variety
of California, at one end of the valley lies Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States.
At the other end is Death Valley, the lowest point in the United States. The Owens River drains the mountains of
their melted snow, and at one time itself drained into Owens Lake. The valley, river and lake were named in 1845
by John C. Fremont for Richard
Owens, one of Fremont's guides.
The valley did not experience the extraordinary growth that the Gold Rush brought to other parts of California. In 1865, a small scale rush erupted when gold was discovered to the north of Owens Lake. In 1872, a large earthquake (estimated now at over 8 on the Richter scale) put the area in the papers. Aside from these events, the valley was primarily home to small farms and ranches. The Owens River, its flow unchecked, made the lowlands of the valley swamps in flood season, but as there were no dams, or money for irrigation projects, much of the valley didn't have enough water. In 1902, with the passage of the National Reclamation Act, hopes ran high in the valley that the government would help the valley develop its water resources.
Meanwhile down in Los Angeles, by the early 1900's it was clear that new water sources were needed to support continued
growth. The Los Angeles River, which had served as L.A.'s primary source of water for its first century of
existence, was proving unequal to the demands being made on it. Water management in L.A. was originally in the hands of a private
company, the Los Angeles City Water Company. After several years of wrangling and politcal maneuvering, in 1902 control of the city's water was turned over to a newly
created municipal organization, the Water Department, which was overseen by a seven member Board of Water
Commissioners. William Mulholland became
the first superintendent of the new department.
As Mulholland began looking for new water sources, Fred Eaton, a former mayor of Los Angeles, and an engineer, brought the Owens Valley to his attention. Eaton had first discovered the valley in the 1890s, and had immediately recognized its potential as a water source. But the federal Reclamation Service also had its eye on the valley as a possible candidate for an irrigation project. J.B. Lippincott, supervising engineer for the Reclamation Service, was the man in charge of putting together recommendations for the government, but amazingly he was also working as a consulting engineer with Mulholland and the L.A. Water Department. Lippincott's efforts for the Reclamation Service resulted only in the valley's public lands being set aside for future development; no rights to the land were secured. It was around this time that Eaton quietly set about buying up options on strategic land in the valley -- the land that would be needed for construction of an aqueduct. To curious valley residents Eaton implied that he was affiliated with the Reclamation Service, not the city of Los Angeles, as was actually the case.
Following a series of bond issues the city acquired enough money to buy these options from Eaton and to start
construction on an aqueduct. Thus the residents of Owens Valley, who had expected to be the beneficiaries of a
federal irrigation project, found themselves out of luck, and water, as construction began on the great Los Angeles
aqueduct.
The 250 mile long aqueduct started at its northern end and ran right through the valley, and the water that the valley residents had once thought was
going to irrigate their farmlands instead flowed down and fed the growing population of L.A.
 H.A. Van Norman (wearing coat) opens gates of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Nov. 5, 1913 |
 Los Angeles Aqueduct, Power House No.1, 1917 |
 Long Valley Dam at the head of Owens Gorge backs up into the combined waters of Mono Basin and Owens River to form Crowley Lake in Long Valley, 1957 |
The 1974 film Chinatown by Roman Polanski was a highly fictionalized account of this struggle.
References:
- Hoffman, Abraham.Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens
Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy. College Station: Texas A&M
University Press, 1981.
- Hundly, Norris. The Great Thirst: Californians and Water, 1770s-1990s. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
- Kahrl, William. Water and Power: The Conflict Over Los Angeles's Water Supply in the Owens Valley. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982.
- Walton, John. Western Times and Water Wars: State, Culture, and Rebellion in California. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
- Hundly, Norris. The Great Thirst: Californians and Water, 1770s-1990s. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
Photo Credits:
- First image: Owens River Valley, circa 1950
- Regional History Center collection.
- Second image: Los Angeles in 1885, Sonora Town, north over Castelan St from Fort Moore Hill (Elysian Hills in background)
- Regional History Center collection.
- Third image: Construction on the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the Owens Valley, circa 1913.
- Regional History Center collection.
- Fourth image: Drawing of aqueduct, showing section running from Owens Valley to Haiwee Reservoir.
- Regional History Center collection.