By the turn of the twentieth century, Los Angeles had grown from a dusty, crime-ridden pueblo into a thriving metropolis. The only problem was that it was growing too fast. With no consistently reliable water source and a desert climate leading to a decade-long drought, the city would have to begin looking elsewhere.
In the Owens River Valley, over two hundred miles north of the city, a vast, rushing river, fed by Sierra mountain snow, lay the solution. But how to get the water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles? City water superintendent William Mulholland and former Los Angeles mayor Fred Eaton devised a breathtakingly simple plan: they would build an aqueduct. As Mulholland began sketching out an engineering vision for the project, Eaton secretly purchased land rights in the Owens Valley.
But Eaton’s methods left many valley residents bewildered and angry, setting up a decades-long battle for survival that would pit a metropolis against a small ranching community.
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01/22/20 • 36 min
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Liam Rigney
@liam
Jan 31
Currently in a class called, “the science, history, policy, and future of water”. Interesting to listen to this pod in the context of the history and policy realms of the class.
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Owen (Team Goodpods)
@owen
Feb 1
Thanks for sharing
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Russ McGlothlin
@russmcglothlin
Apr 24
Good history of LA-Owens Valley water saga
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Chandi Herath
@chandi
Jan 28
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Emily Law
@emily
Feb 1
Cool
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Ken (Team Goodpods)
@ken
Jan 27
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Josh Miller
@josh_ink
Jun 13
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Craig
@acunder
Feb 8
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