The WaterworksThe Panama Canal and The Los Angeles Aqueduct

The Los Angeles Aqueduct

1880 he laid the first iron water pipeline in Los Angeles and also assisted in the making of the Panama Canal.

The Los Angeles aqueduct was 233 miles and was completed in November 1913.

William Mulholland was responsible for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

He was responsible for building aqueducts and dams and allowed the city to be one of the largest in the world.

The Los Angeles

Aqueduct• The Los Angeles

aqueduct project required over 5,000 workers and 164 tunnels.

• Los Angeles lacked water– it was a place of drought and quakes.

• Supplying water for the growing population was crucial.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct• Muholland taught himself how to keep a water

system in his mind and was an engineer in hydraulics.

• The Los Angeles aqueduct took water from Owens Valley, the only source of water in the city.

• 1928 the Los Angeles aqueduct drained Owens Lake dry.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct

Farmers reacted angrily and raised their asking price for land which forced the city administrators to negotiate.

Mulholand’s career ended March 12, 1928 when the St. Francis Dam collapsed just hours after he personally inspected the site.

His methods eventually led to the California Water Wars. 1905 “through aggressive purchases” Los Angeles City Water Company had acquired enough acreage to begin building.

All water rights of the land was held with farmers. Agriculture was thriving at that time.

The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal was a 400 year dream and the largest project engineered.

It provides a 50 mile shortcut to the Pacific Ocean.

1880s Panama was the most difficult and deadliest terrains on Earth and was a highly utilized area.

The Panama Canal was built to save 8,000 miles by following the little Panama railroad. This made a canal at sea level possible.

The Panama Canal

Panama was known as a death trap. It had a three out of four mortality rate of French workers.

Yellow Fever was prevalent in the area. A French hospital near the Panama Canal had plants that supplied fresh water for growth. The mosquito that created yellow fever thrived on fresh water in the tropical environment.

The Panama Canal

John Wallace quit as chief engineer and John Stevens took over.

Men were caught underneath tracks or blown up by dynamite. 23 were killed in a premature explosion. Rain caused avalanches of mud slides that fell on top of all digging progress of the canal.

$10 million dollars was granted to the United States so that they could build the Panama Canal.

Due to the spread of Yellow Fever, the first year of building was chaotic. Workers fled for their lives.

The Panama Canal

Rain ended up being the best thing for the canal because it provided an endless supply of water from the rainforest.

Construction sites were highly stratified and had high salaries for engineers.

50,000 people were in the workforce. African Americans received silver in payment and whites received gold.

The Economy was doing well and people were happy.

The Panama Canal takes nine hours to cross to the Pacific and there are around 2,000 ships that can fit through the canal.

For Queen Elizabeth, the toll to cross The Panama Canal was reported $99,000.

The Panama Canal is one of the busiest canals in the world and ships carry a variety of goods such as oil, food, etc. Today there are about 8,000 in the workforce, primarily Panamanian, to help with the upkeep.