Water and power : the conflict over Los Angeles' water supply in the Owens Valley / William L. Kahrl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kahrl, William L., 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Water-supply--California--Los Angeles.

Water-supply.

Water-supply--California--Owens Valley.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (605 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 1982 (1983 printing)

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

It is not the purpose of this work to propose a specific format for the settlement of the city's current difficulties with the valley, to resolve the environmental questions associated with Los Angeles's proposed groundwater pumping program, or to promote any cause associated with the developing situation in the Owens Valley. But by performing the essential historical task of separating what happened from what did not, and by distinguishing in this way the choices which have been made from those which have yet to be decided, it is my hope that this effort will help to establish that common basis for understanding which is essential for the debate over specific issues to proceed most effectively. This book, then, is scarcely the last word on the Owens Valley conflict: the final chapter, after all, has yet to be written. The story that has emerged here is at once very different and more troubling than the conventional treatments of the conflict as a simplistic political morality play. Any attempt to deal with so controversial a subject, however, is almost certain to spark controversy itself. For that reason, with the exception of a small collection of private letters, this work is constructed entirely from the published documents and other materials available to the general public, anchoring the narrative in sources the reader can consult to trace the line of my argument on any point with which he or she may disagree. In addition, the work as a whole has been reviewed for technical accuracy by officials of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, although the department is in no way responsible for the content of this study or the conclusions drawn from it.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

1. Organizing for Development

2. Competing Public Interests

3. The Politics of Appropriation

4. Forging the Link

5. Years of Excess

6. The Politics of Exploitation

7. Legacy

8. The Ties That Bind

Conclusion

Maps

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612382987

9781282382985

1282382985

9780520907416

0520907418

OCLC:

609849953