Just before midnight on ‌March 7,‍ 1928, the St Francis Dam, located roughly 80km (50 miles) inland of Los Angeles, collapsed. There were no survivors to witness the disaster, but investigators later resolute that the​ 56-metre-tall (184ft-) barrier failed ​catastrophically, unleashing 12.4 billion gallons of water down the San Francisquito​ Canyon in a 43 metres (141ft) high wave.

Five ​hours later, the waters reached the Pacific Ocean,‍ leaving behind ⁢concrete chunks weighing up to 10,000 tonnes. The surge, nearly⁣ 3km (2 miles) wide, devastated towns, cut power, and killed at ‍least 431 people. Remains were found as late as 1994, even near the mexican border.

The dam⁣ had‌ shown cracks and leaks since its ⁤reservoir began filling in 1926. Builders dismissed these issues,​ proceeding with ⁤filling the reservoir. The water, controversially extracted from Owens Valley, was crucial for Los Angeles’s growing population.

Over two years, new cracks and seepage appeared around the dam’s abutments. By‍ February 1928,significant leaks worried local farmers. Chief engineer William Mulholland declared it normal.

On the ⁣morning of the collapse, Mulholland and his team inspected the dam, deeming it safe ⁣but needing repairs. hours⁢ later,it‌ failed. An investigation‍ cited “defective​ foundations” ⁢as the cause.

It was the largest American civil⁤ engineering disaster of‌ the century, a result of ⁢western expansion and ​the⁣ California ‌Water wars, pitting ​the public against ‌private business interests and setting the stage ⁣for ‍a century ‍of conflict over the state’s most contested resource.

‘We are going ‌to turn that country dry’

Water remains a critical issue for California‌ nearly a century later.⁣ During‍ the fires that ravaged Los Angeles​ in January⁢ 2025, firefighters ‌faced low​ hydrant water pressure. investigators attributed this to high demand, while then-president-elect Donald ​Trump blamed‌ state Governor Gavin Newsom, citing⁤ “overregulation” designed to protect endangered species.

In recent interviews with firefighters, ⁤it was revealed ‌that the difficulty​ in obtaining ‍enough water to fight the fires was likely unavoidable.

Bobbie​ Scopa, a firefighter with nearly 45 years ⁢of experience, stated, “There’s no urban ‍municipal water system that could support that.​ You’re going to run out of water, no matter what. It’s not that uncommon. It happens when there’s large fires.”

While water shortage is a valid concern amid California’s droughts, the Los ⁢Angeles‍ water system’s ‍most pressing issues may ‌involve where water ends up. Residents suffer as big agriculture and water investors extract or privatize limited supplies. Studies by the University of Southern California indicate that only 10 percent of state water goes to‍ residents,​ while 80 percent irrigates crops.

This ‍situation continues a ⁣pattern dating back ⁢to the water system’s creation, marked by resource theft, political corruption, and the St Francis Dam disaster.the result is an uncertain ‍future where powerful business interests increasingly parch⁤ vulnerable residents.

William L Kahrl wrote⁤ in Water ⁤and Power: The Conflict Over Los Angeles Water Supply in ​the Owens Valley, “The history of California ‍in the twentieth century is the story of a state inventing itself with water.” Kahrl’s book details the events‌ that brought water to Los Angeles ‍from Owens Valley​ via a 375km (233-mile) aqueduct,⁤ benefiting the former at the expense of the latter, and ‍sparking violent ‍conflict.

Before Southern California’s American settlement, the native Paiute peoples irrigated Owens Valley during ‌droughts. it was suggested the Owens region could become a Paiute reservation. However, after the Los Angeles aqueduct diverted ​water to the expanding city, the tribe suffered greatly when‌ the valley’s water depleted and its economy declined.

William⁢ Mulholland warned an associate ‍early in the ​aqueduct ‌effort, “Do not go to Inyo County,” referring to ‍the county containing Owens Valley. “We are going ⁤to turn that⁤ country dry.”

The California Water Wars

Owens ⁢Lake was wholly ​dried out between ⁣1913 and 1934, but not without significant​ resistance from residents.

Andrew Ayers,professor at the University of ​Nevada,Reno,and research ​fellow at the public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Centre,explains,”It was highly acrimonious at the time because it was one of the first [modern] major water transfers.” He adds ⁤that with little ​legal precedent, “people had⁢ to muddle their way through it”.

The ranchers​ of Owens Valley, whose population ‍grew to about 7,000 before ‌declining, resisted by dynamiting the aqueduct.

According to Kahrl, Mulholland “consistently failed to appreciate ⁣the depth of the anger his⁢ policies were creating….‌ Night riders now plied the⁤ back roads of inyo, preying upon the‌ aqueduct” with⁢ explosives and ‍threatening anyone suspected of being associated with ‍the LADWP.

The attacks peaked ‍on November 1, 1924, when ⁤farmers blew up the aqueduct’s emergency spillway in the Alabama ‌Hills, returning water to the valley. These events were fictionalized in the 1939 movie New Frontiers, where John⁣ Wayne battles villainous water barons.

The Los Angeles Times declared that the‍ conflict represented “the forces ⁣of law and order against Socialism – peace and prosperity against misery and chaos – the Stars and Stripes against ‌the red⁢ flag”.

While some ranchers ⁣acted alone, others ⁢were organized and funded by Owens valley businessmen Wilfred and Mark Watterson, who owned the Inyo county Bank. ‌In August 1927, the bank collapsed, ‍devastating locals’ savings.

The Wattersons admitted to using the money to ‍fund the fight against Los Angeles ‌and were ⁢charged with 36 counts of embezzlement and grand theft totaling $450,000.27 ‌(over $8.2m today).⁤ The Los Angeles Times ​labeled them “mobsters” and falsely linked them to the Ku Klux ⁤Klan, but they were greeted by cheering farmers at their trial.

Kahrl wrote, “As the‍ district attorney presented his closing argument, he broke into⁣ tears, and the judge and jury wept with him.” The Wattersons,sentenced to 10​ years in prison,received the only criminal penalties for the water uprising.

The⁢ court ruling ended the conflict. With the ⁢lake dry, ⁤the lush land turned brown, and the Owens Valley economy ‍collapsed, particularly affecting the Paiute peoples.

Owens Valley became ‍the ⁤nation’s biggest source of dust pollution. During World War II, ⁤the US built ⁣a Japanese internment⁢ camp there. One internee recalled, “We slept in the dust; we breathed the dust; and we ate the dust.”

Mulholland and eaton had a falling out when ‍Eaton refused‌ to sell property for a reservoir. ​Mulholland spent years and $1.3m (from a municipal bond) building the St Francis Dam. Construction workers reported that “the accent was heavy on the urge to overcome obstacles and accomplish results” with‌ little ‍attention given to safety.

After the dam’s collapse, a jury found Mulholland not criminally culpable, but he accepted duty and expressed⁣ guilt. “I envy the dead,” he told the county​ coroner.

He resigned, retired in disgrace, and died in Los Angeles in 1935.

The water wars continue

The state’s ⁤struggle over water was still far from over, ⁢however.

“Water is a critical resource in the American West,” says Ayers. “It’s very easy to fall into a situation where controversy‍ and conflict become not‍ only the dominating narratives but the ⁢dominating modes of operating, and finding ways to avoid that and stoke cooperation and collaboration pay big dividends.”

In⁣ the century that followed the California​ Water Wars, conflict over the region’s water⁤ has continued. Today,‍ the Los Angeles Aqueduct provides​ about a third of ‍the city’s imported‌ water, with the rest coming from the Colorado ‌River​ and other sources throughout California.

“There are conflicting ‌interests within the delta,” says Ayers, referring to the‍ Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta that⁢ serves much of the region’s water. “when‍ we move‌ large amounts ⁢of water from the ⁢wetter north down to the drier south, how that system is⁣ managed has implications for a lot of different players.”

In recent decades, those⁤ interests have placed homeowners throughout the region at odds with large-scale ​producers of water-thirsty crops like almonds, oranges and pomegranates.Those living alongside and ⁢sharing‍ wells⁤ with such farms frequently report low pressure or even a complete lack of water as dwindling supplies are diverted to⁣ irrigate the agricultural industry. Not only do many homeowners end up living⁢ entirely without a running source, but they find it unachievable to‌ sell their now-waterless homes.

These latest water conflicts have largely been driven by a ​1994 deregulation agreement⁢ known as the Monterey Plus Amendments. this pact – forged behind closed doors ‍between the ‍California Department‌ of Water Resources ​and⁢ several water ‍contractors – transferred ownership of public water ​supplies in Kern Country ‍east of Los Angeles to the Kern Water Bank Authority, an entity controlled by agribusiness⁤ interests.‍ Since then,⁤ a growing industry ⁢of private water banks has developed, allowing their‌ owners to control pricing and access, forcing residents in vulnerable areas to pay⁢ more ⁣while others have seen their water⁢ supplies drained entirely.

After 20 years ‌of outcry over the situation,⁤ California passed ⁢the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014 with the intention of achieving a sustainable water system by 2042. The act affords local⁢ water agencies greater control over their groundwater basins while requiring​ that they create and ⁤implement plans‌ for preventing excessive use and other undesirable impacts like ground subsidence. ⁢Public⁢ water advocates, however, argue that such measures are too little too late, ​citing the already incipient ‌crisis, ‍and the ongoing practice of private water ownership.

In the meantime, as homeowners run dry and hydrant pressure ⁢runs low, the state’s agricultural sector continues to‍ increase its profits year ⁢after year. All the while, the temperature is rising.