Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

The monumental completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913 secured the City of Los Angeles as an oasis for opportunity.  Over decades, growing populations demanded more water development to support the ever-expanding metropolis.  However, water in this arid region came with great costs, determination, contestation and labor, which sharply contrasted with the vision of prosperity it provided.  This database offers unique and diverse perspectives into the history of the municipal water system in Los Angeles during the 20th century.

By 1924, the Los Angeles Aqueduct was viewed as insufficient to fulfill Southern California's growing water needs. From the 1920s to 1940s California's Water Plan was mired in debate between Northern Californian water-rights owners and Southern California water users. When Governor Goodwin Knight created the California Department of Water Resources in the 1950s, residents from all over California incorporated the Feather River Project Association (FRPA) as a not-for-profit, non-partisan educational association to serve the public interest in state and local water development and conservation. This organization, headquartered in Los Angeles, worked to research and resolve ongoing water-related issues and educate Californians about them.*