BGuthrie Photos: CA -- Los Angeles -- Department of Water & Power

CA -- Los Angeles -- Department of Water & Power:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. LADWP_130723_037.JPG: William Mulholland: An Irishman Comes to America: William Mulholland was born in Belfast, Ireland, on September 11, 1855. Possessing a great thirst for knowledge and experience, at age 15, the scrappy Mulholland signed on as an apprentice seaman aboard a merchant marine ship, intent to see the world. After traveling for six years while working as a seaman, lumberjack and store clerk, he read about California and set off with his brother for Los Angeles via the Isthmus of Panama (the canal had not yet been built). After hiking across the Isthmus, they secured jobs as deck hands on a ship in Acapulco bound for San Francisco. Upon arrival, the Mulholland lads soon bought horses and rose down to Los Angeles in 1877. After a brief foray in prospecting, Mulholland decided to return to sea, planning to ship out at San Pedro. With $10 in his pocket, Mulholland joined a well-drilling crew to make a little money. As they drilled deeper they found fossil remains, sparking Mulholland's curiosity. He obtained a hold of Joseph Le Conte's book on the region's geology. "Right there I decided to become an engineer," he said.
2. LADWP_130723_050.JPG: Los Angeles' Early Water History: Satisfying the City's Thirst: The City of Los Angeles was founded in a semi-arid region, plagued by drought with little native water. Searching for water and conserving water have been constant themes throughout the city's history. Since the time of the Spanish pueblo, the area's main source of water was the Los Angeles River. Water was distributed through a crude system of dams, water wheels, and ditches (or zanjas). In 1860, the city built its first domestic water system, with a water wheel on the main ditch near College and Alameda streets, and the first reservoir, a brick structure located in the plaza. By the 1880s, there were 10 zanjas covering 93 miles, all fed by the Zanja Madre, or "Mother Ditch." In 1902, when the city regained ownership of its water distribution system after the privately owned Los Angeles City Water Company's 30-year lease expired, the system included six reservoirs with a total capacity of 202 acre-feet, two pumping stations, 325 miles of pipe and 23,119 service connections.
3. LADWP_130723_057.JPG: Growth Curve City of Los Angeles Domestic consumption of water mean daily average
4. LADWP_130723_060.JPG: Growth Curve City of Los Angeles Electrical enemy distributed by Bureau of Power and Light, City of Los Angeles
5. LADWP_130723_063.JPG: Growth Curve City of Los Angeles Population as report by US Census
6. LADWP_130723_069.JPG: From Ditch Digger to Chief Engineer: In many ways, the career of William Mulholland paralleled the rise of Los Angeles. Sparked by his interest in hydrogeology, he took a job as a ditch tender in 1887, or zanjero, with the Los Angeles City Water Company, a private company that supplied water to the city. During his years as an apprentice, Mulholland's unwavering appetite for knowledge and his natural intellectual abilities drove him to read many textbooks on mathematics, hydraulics, geology and other disciplines. He became a self-taught civil engineer while learning first-hand the challenges of delivering water to an increasingly populous city. Over the years, Mulholland rapidly promoted from ditch tender, to straw boss, to foreman, to superintendent. In 1902, the City of Los Angeles bought the Los Angeles City Water Company for $2 million and founded the Los Angeles City Municipal Bureau of Water Works and Supply. All 31 employees of the old water company were retained, and William Mulholland was officially named the new superintendent.
7. LADWP_130723_075.JPG: Artist Herman Villa's painting depicting a 19th century zanjero (ditch tender)
8. LADWP_130723_078.JPG: William Mulholland and members of his family circa 1880
9. LADWP_130723_082.JPG: Two Friends Share Passion for Engineering and Public Service: During his years at the old Los Angeles city Water Company, Mulholland worked closely with then superintendent Fred Eaton, a civic-minded and ambitious hydraulic engineer. Sharing a passion for engineering, Eaton and Mulholland pioneered many large engineering projects. They found new ways to use different technology and methods to distribute water, including the water wheel, gravity flow, steam pumps, and Mulholland's crowning achievement -- the Los Angeles Aqueduct. While Mulholland remained behind the scenes, Fred Eaton ascended in civic affairs, serving as mayor from 1899-1900. He was the ultimate city booster: he held offices as city engineer and city surveyor, he was active in real estate and land development; he even served on the volunteer fire brigade. Mulholland, Eaton, and others who were instrumental in bringing water to Los Angeles, such as Joseph B. Lippincott, an engineer with the National Reclamation Service, and City Attorney William B. Mathews, were progressive men who believed strongly in municipal ownership of water as a public resource.
10. LADWP_130723_116.JPG: Entrance to the Elizabeth Tunnel, ca 1910s. Moving water along the Los Angeles Aqueduct through the mountain ranges of the Sierra Nevada, the Tehachapi and the Coast Range required the excavation of 43 miles of tunnel. The Elizabeth Tunnel excavated through the Coast Range is where the Aqueduct crosses the San Andreas Fault. Excavating Elizabeth Tunnel required crews working from opposite portals and took nearly 4 years with an additional 10 months to complete the concrete lining. During construction of the five-mile long Elizabeth Tunnel -- one of the most difficult aspects of the aqueduct construction -- LADWP pioneered what were to become standard tunneling methods and equipment.
11. LADWP_130723_127.JPG: William Mulholland: Builder of the Los Angeles Aqueduct: With completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad, connecting Los Angeles to the rest of the world, the city's population climbed rapidly. Mulholland met the increasing water demands by expanding the Los Angeles River system, initiating conservation efforts and looking elsewhere for new water sources. He ordered construction of new reservoirs and distribution mains in an effort to add capacity and efficiency and to conserve a large portion of the river's flow. But he knew that if Los Angeles were to grow to its potential, more water sources would be needed. It was Fred Eaton, then mayor of Los Angeles, who introduced Mulholland to the great Owens River. More than 200 miles north of Los Angeles, the river flowed with plentiful, crystal-clean water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. As they sat by a campfire in the Owens Valley, Eaton shared with Mulholland his vision of what became Mulholland's engineering masterpiece -- an aqueduct system that would transport water 233 miles from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles.
12. LADWP_130723_131.JPG: A team of 52 mules hauls steel pipe into position during construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
13. LADWP_130723_133.JPG: Pipe Canyon pipeline portion of aqueduct under construction, ca 1911 Mulholland's plan to build the Los Angeles Aqueduct gained popular support of Los Angeles citizens. By 1907, they had voted for two bond issues worth $24.5 million to purchase Owens Valley Land and water rights, and for construction of the aqueduct.
14. LADWP_130723_142.JPG: Construction of concrete-lined open channel near Lone Pine
15. LADWP_130723_149.JPG: Electric-powered floating dredges were used to excavate 20 miles of unlined open channel near Independence.
16. LADWP_130723_156.JPG: Los Angeles Examiner February 14, 1913 Owens River Diverted into Great Los Angeles Aqueduct: Flood Gates Open, Making Big Epoch in City's History
17. LADWP_130723_163.JPG: The Los Angeles Times November 6, 1913 Glorious Mountain River Now Flows to Los Angeles' Gates
18. LADWP_130723_168.JPG: William Mulholland and thousands of dedicated workers built the First Los Angeles Aqueduct. At the peak of construction, as many as 5,000 workers were employed. A million barrels of cement and six million pounds of dynamite resulted in 215 miles of pipelines and 142 tunnels to bring (Owens Valley) water to the city. Workers at Elizabeth Tunnel set the American record for hard-rock tunnel-driving -- 604 feet in one month. Riveted pipe typical of the pipe used in the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
19. LADWP_130723_174.JPG: Shoe guards show evidence of having been worn during plastering work on the First Los Angeles Aqueduct.
20. LADWP_130723_196.JPG: There it is. Take it. -- William Mulholland On November 4, 1913, water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada came gushing down the cascades into the San Fernando Valley. With his characteristic brevity and modesty, Mulholland said: "There it is. Take it." And that is exactly what Los Angeles did. Under his leadership, an army of 4,000 men labored for five years to realize this dream. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed within the original time and cost estimates. The aqueduct was considered one of the most complete and challenging engineering projects undertaken by any American city up to that time.
21. LADWP_130723_203.JPG: Water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct helped to irrigate farmland in the San Fernando Valley as pictured here in the 1920s. From http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/mulholland.htm But the residents of the Owens Valley were not the only ones out-maneuvered by Mulholland and Eaton. Mulholland in particular had portrayed the acquisition of the Owens River as a life or death matter for Los Angeles. In reality, however, much of the water was to be used for irrigating the nearby San Fernando Valley, where a syndicate of private investors, many the personal friends of Mulholland and Eaton, had been furiously buying up land with the assurance that its value would skyrocket. This same group of investors was critical in securing passage of the 1905 bond issue that would pay for the Owens River diversion.
22. LADWP_130723_216.JPG: This relief map of the Los Angeles Aqueduct was consturcted in 1915 under the personal direction of William Mulholland to depict the true magnitude of the aqueduct and to illustrate the nature of the watershed that supplies the city.
23. LADWP_130723_221.JPG: Thatcher's calculating instrument was used under the direction of Mulholland to design the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Made in 1896, it multiplies and performs exponential functions. This instrument is equivalent to a 30-foot long engineer's slide rule.
24. LADWP_130723_228.JPG: Surveyor's level and wooden box with leather strap
25. LADWP_130723_230.JPG: Mulholland's wooden tripod
26. LADWP_130723_244.JPG: The St. Francis Dam Disaster: Three minutes before midnight on March 12, 1928, the Saint Francis Dam gave way, destroying farms, communities and everything in its path. More than 38,000 acre-feet of water surged down San Francisquito Canyon and through the Santa Clara Valley, killing more than 450 people, including 63 LADWP employees of San Francisquito Power Plants Nos. 1 and 2 and their families. Nearly a century later, however, we know that human error was not the only factor to blame that fateful night; researchers found that an ancient landslide, undetectable by the technology of the time, was responsible for the collapsed of the dam.
27. LADWP_130723_250.JPG: William Mulholland, still the city's chief water engineer, accepted full responsibility for the disaster. He asserted that if there was human error, it was his and his alone. Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles was quick to accept legal responsibility and make restitution to the victims' families. The City also immediately provided emergency relief, while LADWP undertook the massive cleanup effort.
28. LADWP_130723_254.JPG: St. Francis List of Victims
29. LADWP_130723_259.JPG: Scale model of a single circuit, 3-phase Boulder Transmission Line Tower. At the time in the late 1930s, it was the longest and highest voltage transmission line in the nation. It began tranamitting power from Hoover Dam to Los Angeles in 1936.
30. LADWP_130723_277.JPG: Lake Mono
31. LADWP_130723_286.JPG: From Vision to Reality: The Building of the Colorado River Aqueduct and Hoover Dam: The City of Los Angeles was instrumental in gaining federal approval for the lower Colorado River Aqueduct project, which combined flood control, water supply and energy production for the three states that form the lower Colorado River basin. The project's success hinged on the creation of the spectacular Hoover Dam. In support of Hoover Dam, Los Angeles guaranteed its power purchases against the federal government's costs for the dam. Completed in 1935, the dam began furnishing power to the city the following year over a 226-mile transmission line built by the City of Los Angeles. And, upon the completion of the Colorado River Aqueduct in 1941, MWD began to wholesale Colorado River water to its member agencies. Before his death on July 22, 1935, Mulholland lived to see the beginnings of the Colorado River Aqueduct and Hoover Dam, constructed in the spirit of greatness he had always envisioned for Los Angeles.
32. LADWP_130723_290.JPG: Hoover Dam
33. LADWP_130723_294.JPG: The sign was given to Catherine Mulholland by the wife of a horse trainer for movie producer Darryl F. Zanuck. Her husband had taken it for a souvenir after proposing to her under the sign a lifetime earlier.
34. LADWP_130723_307.JPG: Relief map of Boulder Dam and Power Plant. Water can be pumped into model to show the actual water flow.
35. LADWP_130723_316.JPG: Public Outreach Campaign Spurs Support for Colorado River Aqueduct: Seeking widespread support of a $220 million bond issue to fund the project, Mulholland and the MWD implemented a massive public relations program directed at the public and political decision makers. The grassroots public relations campaign employed outreach strategies such as street banners, bumper stickers, pamphlets, weekly radio announcements, traveling exhibits and other techniques. The campaign was a success. In 1931, voters approved the bonds to finance construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct.
36. LADWP_130723_319.JPG: Colorado River Aqueduct, William P. Mulholland Intake Plumbing Plant at Lake Havasa.
37. LADWP_130723_325.JPG: William Mulholland watches as Harvey Van Norman, who became general manager of the Department of Water and Power following the "Chief's" retirement, explains the topographic map of the Mojave Desert and route of the proposed Colorado River Aqueduct to officials. The giant map measures 27 feet by 25 feet, covers approximately 625 square feet and weighs 8,000 pounds. It was designed and built under the direction of Mulholland. The topographic map is currently located at the General George C. Patton Museum east of Palm Springs on Interstate Highway 10.
38. LADWP_130723_337.JPG: Catherine Mulholland Reflects on Water and Her Granddad: When Catherine Mulholland was growing up, water and its scarcity were powerful realities. She grew up on a citrus and walnut ranch in the San Fernando Valley developed by her father, Perry Mulholland, on land purchased by his father, William Mulholland, between 1914 and 1916. The ranch depended upon irrigation to thrive, and Catherine learned fast that water was a precious commodity. "I remember men being fired from the ranch for letting irrigation water run out onto the street and be wasted. A drippy faucet was a big 'no-no' in my life. You just knew that you saved water." -- Catherine Mulholland William Mulholland's legacy to Los Angeles is evident every time someone turns on the tap. "We take water so much for granted. It's like breathing in and out. We've got a good water supply and it's because of the Department of Water and Power and those early leaders who really set the example." A powerful figure, William Mulholland loomed large in her family. He was a man of few words who exuded authority, self-effacing, yet with an innate ability to get along with other people. Catherine has fond memories of her granddad visiting their ranch, expressing interest in their schooling and other activities. And she remembers her family taking her for drives and pointing out "grandpa's aqueduct."
39. LADWP_130723_346.JPG: William Mulholland: Father of the Colorado River Aqueduct: In 1923, only a decade after completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Los Angeles and other Southern California communities were looking to find an additional supply of water. The region's population was continuing to increase at a rapid rate. Many industries were growing and demanding more water. Water supplies from the Owens Valley and local sources were being taxed to their limits. It was clear that if Southern California was to continue to grow, a new water source had to be found. After looking at many options, William Mulholland convinced city populations and residents that the next source of water could only come from the Colorado River. MWD: Southern California Cities Join Forces: Mulholland devised a plan to bring Colorado River water over 270 miles to the City of Los Angeles. In 1925, Los Angeles voters approved a $2 million bond issue to perform the preliminary engineering for the Colorado River Aqueduct. Under Mulholland's direction, hundreds of surveyors spread out across the desert southwest and mapped more than 50,000 square miles of terrain -- from the Grand Canyon to Baja California. After seven years, Mulholland had decided upon four tentative routes the aqueduct could follow. But the size of the project was simply too large for Los Angeles to attempt alone. In 1928, an act of the State Legislature brought the cities of the Southern California region together to form a state special district -- the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The MWD's original purpose was to plan, finance, build and operate a water-supply system from the Colorado River to Southern California cities. The City of Los Angeles provided all engineering and construction services until the project was turned over to MWD in May 1930. In addition, the city contributed about one-third of the total capital funds necessary to construct the Colorado River Aqueduct. Today, the MWD serves more than 18 million people in six Southern California counties.
40. LADWP_130723_356.JPG: Photo depicting site of Boulder Dam Project (later renamed in honor of President Herbert Hoover).
41. LADWP_130723_365.JPG: William Mulholland: The Chief: "William Mulholland was a lesson in intellectual honesty and moral stamina that should not be forgotten. May his spirit live among us forever." -- Joseph Scott, Los Angeles pioneer In his lifetime, William Mulholland inspired admiration and respect among his family, peers, and those who knew of him and his great accomplishments on behalf of the City of Los Angeles. LADWP employees, and those he knew well, affectionately dubbed him "The Chief." Upon his death on July 22, 1935, the City of Los Angeles not only lost a great advocate, but an extraordinary leader as well. Mayor Frank L. Shaw ordered flags on public buildings flown at half-mast. In the days following his death, thousands who knew him or his work came to pay their respects as he lay in state in the City Hall Rotunda. The Water and Power Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution praising him for over 50 years of public service to the City of Los Angeles and as the Chief Engineer and General Manager of its Water System.
42. LADWP_130723_372.JPG: Director Cecil B. DeMille helped to plan the festivities to celebrate the opening of Mulholland Highway in December 1924.
43. LADWP_130723_378.JPG: Oil portrait of Ruth (1898-1973) by an unknown Greenwich Village artist in the 1920s. Mulholland's youngest daughter lived most of her adult life in New York City.
44. LADWP_130723_387.JPG: William Mulholland's Legacy: Ensuring Reliable, High-Quality Water for LA: William Mulholland's legacy to Los Angeles is evident every time someone turns on the tap. Today, LADWP is the nation's largest municipal utility, serving high-quality, reliable and affordably priced water to nearly 4 million people. The Future of Water in Los Angeles: Just as in Mulholland's era, finding and securing new sources of water to meet the demands of the arid Los Angeles region remains one of the City's greatest challenges. Toward this end, LADWP has made significant investments in local groundwater recharge, recycled water for non-potable uses, and water conservation. LADWP is also investigating new technologies, such as seawater desalinization. Water System Facts: The City of Los Angeles uses about 215 billion gallons of water annually, with the average Angeleno using 155 gallons daily. The vast Los Angeles water distribution system spans 464 miles of mountains, hills and valleys. The system includes: * More than 7,100 miles of pipe. * More than 100 storage tanks and reservoirs in the city. * Eight reservoirs along the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
45. LADWP_130723_397.JPG: Ezra Scattergood: Father of the Power System: Ezra Scattergood, the father of municipal power in Los Angeles, was a pioneer who devoted his life to bringing ample supplies of electric energy to the City of Los Angeles. Scattergood spent more than three decades at the helm of the Power system and his foresight, dedication, and achievements helped Los Angeles reach its present status as one of the premier cities in the world. As chief electrical engineer of the Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct Power, Scattergood believed that the City's destiny rested upon an abundant supply of low-cost water and electricity. Under his stewardship, the Bureau planned and developed hydroelectric power for the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The Bureau was able to buy most of the private power companies in the City due to the success of these plants. The largest acquisition came in 1922, when the Bureau purchased the Southern California Edison's distribution system in Los Angeles.
46. LADWP_130723_400.JPG: Dedication ceremony at Power Plant 1 in 1917
47. LADWP_130723_403.JPG: Upgraded state-of-the-art thyristor valves at Sylmar-East Converter Station.
48. LADWP_130723_407.JPG: Pictures at night, the natural gas-powered combined cycle units at Valley Generating Station are among the most energy efficient in California.
49. LADWP_130723_443.JPG: Scale model of a single circuit, 3-phase electric transmission tower
50. LADWP_130723_460.JPG: Ezra Scattergood used water along the First Aqueduct to produce electricity and led the move to bring power from Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) to the City of Los Angeles. He was instrumental in raising 22,800,000 dollars in bond issues to build the dam. In 1935, he joined President Franklin D. Roosevelt in dedicating the huge project, which enabled Los Angeles to grow in population business and industry.
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Wikipedia Description: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving over four million residents. It was founded in 1902 to supply water and electricity to residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. The LADWP receives no tax support, and contributes about $190 million annually to the revenues of the city of Los Angeles.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (CA -- Los Angeles -- Department of Water & Power) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2010_CA_LA_DWP: CA -- Los Angeles -- Department of Water & Power (37 photos from 2010)
- 2002_CA_LA_DWP: CA -- Los Angeles -- Department of Water & Power (1 photo from 2002)
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2013 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000 and Nikon D600. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Memphis, TN, Jackson, MS [to which I added a week to to visit sites in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee], and Richmond, VA), and my 8th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Nevada and California). Ego Strokes: Aviva Kempner used my photo of her as her author photo in Larry Ruttman's "American Jews & America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball" book. Number of photos taken this year: just over 570,000.
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