A section of the Los Angeles River: the bridge at N. Spring Street. Once home to abundant wildlife, the Los Angeles River provided desperately needed water to the region—until the 1930s, that is, when the Army Corps of Engineers began the process of paving 80% of the river, turning it into a ribbon of concrete. Photo by KCET Departures, and used under a Creative Commons license.
As you know, this week we’re taking a deep historical dive into the history of water use and management in California. Module 10.1 looks at all kinds of water use, while Module 10.2 further narrows our case study to California’s rivers, with a special focus on mining.
As you read this week’s materials, pay close attention to how Californians’ thinking about and behavior regarding water has changed over the past 150 years. If there’s an area of special interest to you—for example, drought, agriculture, recreation, or the management of native species—take extra notes on that topic, paying special attention to how Californians have used engineering (in all its forms, including physical and cultural) to address your topic.
Read:
- Ellen Hanak et. al., and Public Policy Institute of California, Managing California’s Water: From Conflict to Reconciliation. Chapter 1: “Floods, Droughts, and Lawsuits: A Brief History of California Water Policy”
(You don’t need to read anything else from the report Managing California’s Water, but you might want to know where to find the entire book so you can refer to it, if you so desire, in your next assignment. The entire report is here.)