Water for Los Angeles - The Los Angeles Aqueduct

The Los Angeles Aqueduct system is comprised of the Owens Valley aqueduct and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct. The system brings water from the Owens River in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains to Los Angeles. The Whitney Canyon trail, which leads to the Wilson Canyon Bench, crosses the aqueduct’s famous Elsmere Siphon. The project began in 1908 and employed approximately 5,000 before completion in 1913. The aqueduct travels of 223 mi (359 km) to deliver water from the Eastern Sierra to Los Angeles. The aqueduct uses gravity to transport water and generates electricity en route. The construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct ensured continued growth of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, but simultaneously eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community, and destroyed the Owens Lake ecosystem. The Owens River Aqueduct was designed by William Mulholland, whose memory is celebrated by Mullholand Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains, Mulholland Dam in the Hollywood Hills, Mulholland Fountain near Griffith Park, and Mulholland Middle School in Van Nuys. In 1965, the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct was begun, paralleling the first aqueduct from Haiwee Reservoir, south of Owens Lake. Unlike Mulholland’s aqueduct, the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct does not operate solely via gravity and requires power for pumping. Both aqueducts merge near the cascades, which are at the east terminus of the San Gabriel Mountains near Newhall Pass. The cascades can be clearly seen near the junction of the Foothill (210) and Golden State (5) Freeways in Sylmar.