Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving 3.8 million residents in 2004. It was founded in 1902 to deliver water and electricity supplies to residents and businesses in Los Angeles. William Mulholland was the first director. It is the principal land owner in the Owens Valley. A public utility is a company that maintains the infrastructure for a public service. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Water (from the Old English word wæter; c. ... Jump to: navigation, search Electricity is a general term applied to phenomena involving a fundamental property of matter called an electric charge. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles , meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... William Mulholland (1855–1935) was a prominent and influential water-services engineer in Southern California. ... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ...

History

The LADWP is the leading protagonist in the struggle over access to water from the Owens Valley. This history, including the initial acquisition of water rights, as well as Mono Lake, and Owens Lake issues, are covered in the article titled "California Water Wars", and most aspects of LADWP history in the Owens Valley are handled there. Water Rights refers to a legal system for allocating water from a water source to water users. ... Mono Lake, showing nearby Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species and is one of the most productive ecosystems in North America. ... The California Water Wars was a struggle between Los Angeles, California and people living elsewhere (including the Owens Valley) over water rights. ... The California Water Wars was a struggle between Los Angeles, California and people living elsewhere (including the Owens Valley) over water rights. ...

The LADWP first offered municipal electricity in 1917, when the San Francisquito Power Plant began generating electricity. It ultimately produced 70.5 megawatts and is still in operation in 2004, producing 44.5 megawatts. Jump to: navigation, search 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1928 the St. Francis Dam, built and operated by the LADWP, collapsed catastrophically due to its east flank being unwittingly founded on an active landslide by chief engineer William Mulholland. 400 people died in the immediate vicinity, but the overall death toll was mitigated by prompt warnings sent to downriver communities in the Santa Clara River Valley, including Fillmore, Santa Paula, and San Buenaventura. From the wreckage of the dam collapse rose the modern field of geological engineering, but Mulholland nevertheless took full responsibility for the disaster and its pall continued to hang over him until his death in 1935. Jump to: navigation, search 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The St. ... Geological engineering is the engineering science of applying engineering principals to geologic materials as part of the engineering design of facilties including roads, tunnels, and mines especially as related to minerals and mineral products. ...

Current operations

The LADWP maintains generating capacity (7,050 megawatts) in excess of the peak demand within Los Angeles (5,400 megawatts). It provides this surplus electricity to other utilities, selling 23 million megawatt-hours in 2003. The LADWP operates four natural gas-fired generators within city boundaries, which account for a quarter of capacity. It receives half of its electricity from coal-fired plants in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, and because of that is considered one of the dirtiest public-owned utilities in the country. A further 12% is nuclear, It also receives about 12% of its electricity from hydropower, most coming from Hoover Dam over 266 miles (428 km) of and the rest coming from the aqueduct system itself. The Los Angeles City Council voted in 2004 to direct the LADWP to generate 20% of its energy (excluding Hoover Dam) from clean sources by 2017. Pilot projects include wind turbines, fuel cell power plants, and solar power. The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries, but note that this is also American and Canadian slang for gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by deep mining, coal mining (open-pit mining or strip mining). ... // History Early history Native Americans have lived in Utah for several thousand years; most archeological evidence dates such habitation about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Senators John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R) Official languages English Only State Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Senators Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... Hoover Dam Hoover Dam 1931-1935 US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Hoover Dam (36°0′56″ N 114°44′16″ W) is a concrete gravity-arch dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. ... The Los Angeles City Council meets three times a week in city hall. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2017 is a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search A tall tower holds a wind turbine aloft where winds are consistently stronger. ... A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i. ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ...

The LADWP provided more than 200 billion US gallons (760,000,000 m³) of water in 2003, through 7,226 miles (11,629 km) of pipe. One-third (33%) of the water comes from the Sierra Nevada and flows by gravity through the Los Angeles Aqueducts for 338 miles to the city. Fourteen percent is from groundwater, a local resource that is actively managed and allocated. The groundwater is continually being threatened by chemical pollution, such as MTBE and perchlorates. The bulk of Los Angeles's water supply (53%) comes from the Colorado River via the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and its Colorado River Aqueduct. The prospect of increased demand (and reduced supply) is causing the LADWP to plan for a future desalination plant in Playa del Rey. The gallon is a unit of volume used for measuring liquids (as well as dry matter). ... Look up pipe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... There are two Los Angeles Aqueducts--the original Los Angeles Aqueduct was designed by William Mulholland (an Irish immigrant who became a self-taught engineer and head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) and completed in 1913 to deliver water from the Owens River to the city... Groundwater is water flowing within aquifers below the water table. ... MTBE is highly flammable and is widely used as an oxygenate. ... Perchlorates are the salts of perchloric acid (HClO4). ... // Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View For other uses, see Colorado River (disambiguation). ... The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is one of the largest water districts in the world. ... Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct is a 242-mi (392 km) diversion canal in southern California in the United States. ... Desalination refers to any of several processes that removes the excess salt and minerals from water in order to obtain fresh water suitable for animal consumption or for irrigation, sometimes producing table salt as a byproduct. ... In the City of Los Angeles, Playa del Rey is the section of beachfront just south of the Ballona Wetlands and Ballona Creek and Marina del Rey; thus, the beach population is divided here. ...

Because Los Angeles is older than most cities in California, the LADWP is currently faced by several unique issues. Most of the power lines in Los Angeles were built above-ground before it became customary to run power lines below-ground; as a result, the horizon line of the typical Los Angeles boulevard looks much more cluttered than boulevards in most Southern California cities. LADWP is slowly "undergrounding" power lines, but the project is a low priority.

Another issue is that many of the old pipelines are beginning to wear out, or are at capacity and are insufficient to handle future demand. LADWP has undertaken pipeline replacement projects on many L.A. boulevards, like Exposition and Olympic; but the necessary lane closings have only worsened the city's chronic traffic congestion. Traffic jams are common in heavily populated areas. ...

External links

• LADWP Home Page
• Owens Valley Committee (sued LADWP over water)