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- Human Development Report 2006
- Chapter
Water competition in agriculture
- Author: United Nations Development Programme
- Main Title: Human Development Report 2006 , pp 171-200
- Publication Date: November 2006
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.18356/ec838d03-en
- Language: English
One hundred years ago William Mulholland, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Department (LAWD), introduced California to a new concept in state politics: the water grab. Faced with meeting the water demands for a small, fast growing desert town, Mulholland quietly bought up water rights in the Owens Valley, more than 200 miles to the north, built an aqueduct across the blistering Mojave Desert and delivered the water to downtown Los Angeles. Violent protests followed. Owens Valley ranchers attempted to dynamite the aqueduct, and the LAWD responded with a massive show of armed force. The water transfer paved the way for the growth of Los Angeles. Urban users got unlimited supplies of water, and large commercial farmers got irrigation water that made the deserts bloom with cotton and other water-intensive crops. Farmers in the Owens Valley lost out.
© United Nations
ISBN (PDF):
9789210576956
Book DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18356/334c604b-en
Related Subject(s):
Economic and Social Development
Sustainable Development Goals:
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