Los Angeles Aqueduct
Summary: L.A. Aqueduct
Country: U.S.A.
Overview: The Los Angeles Aqueduct is a complex, “gravity-flow” system constructed in three major phases to transport water from the Owens Valley and Mono Lake area in eastern California to the city of Los Angeles. The First LA Aqueduct (LAA1), completed in 1913, consisted of a combination of canals, pipelines, and tunnels to capture water from the Owens River. The Mono Basin Extension, completed in 1941, extended the route over 100 miles farther up the Owens Valley to capture water from the mountain streams flowing into Mono Lake. The Second LA Aqueduct (LAA2), completed in 1970, branches off the First LA Aqueduct at the Haiwee Reservoir and runs essentially parallel to LAA1 to Los Angeles. This addition essentially doubled the capacity for transporting water to the city.
Initial Construction (Years): 1908 – 1913 (First LA Aqueduct)
Managing Agency: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) https://www.ladwp.com/
Major Source: Owens River and Mono Lake area (Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Major Destination: Los Angeles, CA.
Construction Type: Mixed (Canal, Tunnel, and Pipeline)
Length (LAA1 from Lee Vining Creek Diversion to Van Norman (LA) Reservoir): 382 miles (614 km)
Maximum Capacity: First LA Aqueduct (LAA1): 485 cfs. Second LA Aqueduct (LAA2): 290 cfs
Average Transport: ?
Google Earth File
Download Google Earth File (KMZ format)
Creative Commons License (CC-BY): This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
How to cite this work: Chaney, P.L. 2021. Los Angeles Aqueduct AU. [Google Earth File]. The IBT Water Project. https://www.auburn.edu/cosam/faculty/geosciences/chaney/ibtwater/los_angeles.htm
References
Austin, C. 2010. The Los Angeles Aqueduct Slideshow. Slideshare.net. Published on December 5, 2010. https://www.slideshare.net/MavensManor/the-los-angeles-aqueduct-slideshow. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
City of Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners. 1908. Topographic map of the Los Angeles aqueduct and adjacent territory. Library of Congress Online Catalog. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4361n.ct001798/. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Coffin, D. 2016. LA Aqueduct. [Google Earth KMZ file]. http://droughtmath.com/laa/LAA_Simple.kmz. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
damian. 2013. LA_Aqueduct. [ArcGIS Feature Layer] Created: Jul 29, 2013 Updated: Oct 29, 2013. Credits: None. https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=18ccc01b1df9472598d7c476ae113dca. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Jacques, H.L. 1939. Mono Craters Tunnel Construction Problems. Journal of the American Water Works Association 32:1. http://www.monobasinresearch.org/historical/monocraterstunnelconstruction.pdf. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
James, R. 2013. Notes from the Field: Exploring the Remains of a Forgotten Los Angeles Disaster. Atlas Obscura (August 22, 2013). https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/notes-from-the-field-exploring-what-remains-of-st-francis-dam. Last Accessed: 02 November 2018.
kklausmeyer@tnc.org. 2018. California_Aqueducts. [ArcGIS Feature Layer] Created: Sep 27, 2012. Last Updated: Jan 10, 2018. Credits: The Nature Conservancy. Original Source: NHD 18 Plus. https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=d7d46f83cda849d0b742f84d92d0f1e8. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. (n.d.). Facts and History: The Story of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. LADWP.com. https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-water/a-w-losangelesaqueduct/a-w-laa-factsandhistory?_adf.ctrl-state=q968j79pc_4&_afrLoop=961968318040231. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Los Angeles Water and Power Associates. (n.d.). Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.Water and Power Associates. https://waterandpower.org/museum/Construction_of_the_LA_Aqueduct.html. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Reisner, M. 1986. Cadillac Desert. Viking Penguin, NY. https://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-Revised/dp/0140178244.
Trinidad, E. 2013. A Self-Guided Tour of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. KCET. (November 4, 2013). https://www.kcet.org/redefine/a-self-guided-tour-of-the-los-angeles-aqueduct. Last Accessed: 01 November 2018.
Wikipedia Contributors. 2018. Los Angeles Aqueduct. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Last edited on 2 November 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Aqueduct. Last Accessed: 02 November 2018.
Note: Citations for website links embedded in the Google Earth map file for certain features are not included in the list above.
Personal Communications
Special Thanks to Fred Barker, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (Retired). Fred guided multi-day field trips of the route for 15 years during his service as an engineer with LADWP.
Request for Assistance: Missing and conflicting information is an ongoing challenge in this project. Although significant effort has been made to map the IBTs main route and key features, some important details may have been missed. We apologize in advance for any errors and request your assistance in making necessary revisions.
Last Updated: 01 April 2021