Los Angeles city officials, led by William Mulholland, purchased land and water rights in Owens Valley under false pretenses of local use, and instead constructed an aqueduct to transport the water to LA. The aqueduct opened in 1913, fueling rapid population growth and development in LA. As the Owens Valley dried up due to water diversion, local resentment grew and bombings of the aqueduct occurred. Mulholland later oversaw construction of the St. Francis Dam, which catastrophically failed in 1928, killing over 450 people.

1. CADILLAC DESERTBY RYAN ROSS

2. Owens Valley The Owens Valley was originally inhabited by the Paiute Indians and were forced into dryer land by white settlers. By 1904 the Owens Valley was by farmers that relied on the Owens River.In this year William Mulholland, the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, came to the Owens Valley and started buying up the land under the false pretence of using the water locally.

3. The Aqueduct In 1905 construction starts on the aqueduct from Owens Valley to Los Angeles. Construction was completed in 5 years, which was under budget and ahead of schedule. On November 5, 1913 , the aqueduct opens in the San Fernando Valley. Farming booms in the San Fernando Valley and the city’s population booms. Newly flowing abundance of water turns L.A. into an elaborate “garden”.

4. Population soars to 1,000,000 by the 1920’s. The farms in the San Fernando Valley turned into track homes and Mulholland is looked towards to obtain more water for the city. Ground water is tapped into in the Owens Valley which dries up the few remaining farms in the area. This creates animosity towards L.A. from the Owens Valley residents and results in the bombings of the aqueduct.

5. The St. Francis Dam Built from 1924 to 1926 in Santa Clarita, the St. Francis Dam created a reservoir for the city of Los Angeles. On March 12, 1928 the dam started to leak. The dam failed right before midnight on that day and just after Mulholland inspect the dam and deemed it safe. The resulting flood killed more than 450 people and ended the career of William Mulholland as a civil engineer.