100th Anniversary Los Angeles Aqueduct Celebrated in SFV

By City News Service

Mayor Eric Garcetti and city officials will gather in Sylmar Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the 233-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct, which transported water to Los Angeles from Owens Valley.

LA Department of Water and Power General Manager Ronald Nichols and descendants of major players in the construction of the aqueduct -- including Christine Mulholland, the great-granddaughter of the aqueduct's chief engineer, William Mulholland -- will be among the guests as actors re-enact the moment the aqueduct gates were first opened, sending water gushing toward the city.

Mono and Inyo County officials who represent areas that have been impacted by the aqueduct through the years will also be in attendance.

An open house and broadcast viewing for the public will take place at LADWP's downtown John Ferraro Building at 111 N. Hope St.

The aqueduct began bringing water from the Owens River on the eastern slope of the Sierra Mountains to Los Angeles in November 1913. The massive public works project is widely credited with transforming Los Angeles from a sleepy agricultural town into a modern metropolis, allowing for rapid expansion of the city and the development of the San Fernando Valley. It was also considered a great feat of engineering, since it was entirely powered by gravity and used no electric pumps.

The large-scale water diversion, which now accounts for slightly more than one-third of Los Angeles residents' water supply, has also caused significant environmental problems, including poor air quality in the Owens Valley as Owens Lake dried up. The negative effects have led to a series of legal battles over what to do to keep dust from the dried lakebed contained.

In June, LADWP agreed to pay $10 million, continue dust control measures at the mostly dry Owens Lake and preserve historic Native American artifacts as part of a settlement agreement reached with the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District in Inyo County.