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World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017 400

In theory, the concept of an aqueduct utilizing gravity flow had numerous advantages over
any of the competing rivers then under consideration. Owens Lake, the terminus of the river’s
natural flow, was at an elevation of 3560 feet above sea level, while downtown Los Angeles'
elevation of just 300 feet allowed for a drop of more than 3,260 feet. After pouring over topographic
profiles they decided to situate the aqueduct’s intake 12 miles north of Independence near elevation
3900, and convey the water an incredible 233 miles southward. This would allow a hydraulic grade
of over 15 feet per mile, more fall than any other aqueducts preceding it. The surplus hydraulic
energy head meant that sag pipes (often referred to as inverted siphons in the media of the era) and
pressure tunnels could be utilized to traverse difficult terrain.
A natural problem solver blessed with charisma, Mulholland could be very stubborn about
principles. We can catch a glimpse of this character trait in the long-standing feud between himself
and his mentor Fred Eaton, who had preceded him as Superintendent of the L.A. Water Company.
It was Eaton who conceived the idea of capturing the waters of the Owens River and conveying this
precious resource to Los Angeles. With inside knowledge that the citizens of Los Angeles might
vote approve a future proposal to construct a mighty aqueduct to tap the Owens River, in March
1905 Eaton purchased 20,000 acres of land in the Upper Owens and Long Valleys from the Rickey
Land & Cattle Co., for $450,000 ($22.50 per acre). Within a year and a half he sold 8,000 acres of
his holdings to the City at cost ($22.50/acre), but retained 12,000 acres in Long Valley, which
included the prime site for a dam that could retain a storage reservoir storing 260,000 acre-feet with
a dam 140 ft high. For 25 years Eaton tried in vain to sell his Long Valley property to the City,
initially for $750,000, or about $62.50 per acre. Eaton profiting at the public expense was not
something a man like Mulholland could accept, and he exerted pressure to hold off on its
acquisition. After Mulholland retired, the property went into foreclosure and the City purchased the
land for $650,000 in December 1932. In 1938-41 the Department of Water & Power (DWP)
constructed Long Valley Dam. Just 126 feet high, it retains Crowley Lake, the largest storage
facility on the Los Angeles Aqueduct, capable of retaining 183,650 ac-ft

Feasibility studies. Mulholland asked the City’s Board of Water Commissioners for $1.5 million
to undertake engineering studies of the scheme (Kelly, 1916). These funds were quickly made
available, a real testimony to Mulholland’s credibility and the serious nature of the City’s desperate
need for water. In the spring of 1905, the Water Commissioners appointed a Board of Engineers to
investigate all of the potential sources of additional water for the City. The panel was comprised of
Mulholland, J.B. Lippincott and O.K. Parker (when Lippincott’s contract with the Reclamation
Service ended in 1906, he was hired by Mulholland as Assistant Chief Engineer of the Aqueduct).
The panel’s likely purpose was to demonstrate that the Owen River presented the best alternative,
and the appointment of Lippincott had strategic significance, given his position with the
Reclamation Service then overseeing studies of the Owens River (Hoffman, 1981). The alternatives
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including the San Gabriel River (283 mi ), Santa Ana River (728 mi ), Mojave River (211 mi ) and
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the Kern River (2,345 mi ). Conveying water from the Mojave or Kern Rivers would require
tunnels of unprecedented length to transport water through Cajon Pass (for the Mojave) or either
Tejon or Tehachapi Passes (for the Kern).
It was the Owens River that exhibited enormous potential. Its expansive watershed

encompassed 2,604 square miles, and its water could be diverted southward from a much higher
elevation than the any of the alternatives. The fact that Mulholland had never constructed hydraulic
structures, such as pressure tunnels and sag pipes, never seemed to diminish his confidence that
these things could be accomplished by a judicious review of the published literature on the subject.

World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017