PANAMA & LOS ANGELES:

THE WATERWORKS THAT MADE THE AMERICAN

WESTBy: Angie Martinez

Panama Canal

•Panama Canal was a 50 mile short cut across the Pacific Ocean•Began in the 1880’s •Panama is one of the most dangerous sailing areas •Boarding begins at the great Gatun locks at the Carrabin entrance to the canal •Engineering of canal is great, for not having many tools that we have nowadays •Locomotives guide the ships to the duct•Locks are like elevators that raise the ships about 85 feet •Passage is really up and over Panama The Pioneers –•Canal will follow the rail road track •Ferdinand de Lesseps is not an engineer he is an entrepreneur of confidence •French would provide the money and labor •2 weathers is Panama- dry and rain; but when it rained it was heavy (40ft of weather in 24 hrs) •French cut the forest by hand and then began digging •Many people died from small pox, snake bites, food poisoning, malaria, and yellow fever.

Continue…• The mortality rate in hospital patients was 3/4 •From the first group of French nurses; 2 survived of 24 •The hospital was well equipped in all aspects except for the windows had not protection from the insects. Insect whichcarried yellow fever grown in fresh water in artificial like areas; just like the garden that they hospital had right in front. •It was said that people would get infected with malaria “because of the decaying waist the was in the night air” •1886, Ferdinand de Lesseps arrived to declare that the canal would be built •Work was a little harder then what they expected, and the cost was also high, once workers thought they were improving in the labor something else would come up, (ex. mood slides), engineers were not well trained for that job, and did not know how to improvise •In the 10 yr. span that the French were in Panama 20,000 people died •Money ran out, the task was to much … if maybe Ferdinand de Lesseps didn’t insist on building the canal at sea level it could have worked •1889 Ferdinand de Lesseps canal company collapsed, biggest financial failure in history at the time, government fall.. Ferdinand de Lesseps ended his days in disgrace •The construction was left there un-talked of because is was just a big national disgraced and many wasted lives •The failure for the canal had other reasons that people could not controlled , the French effort was too early, they didn’t have the technology need, and the medical science was not ready, the French did a 3rd of the job need for the canal

Insect that caused yellow fever

Continue…The Builders- •1. President William McKinley was assassin •Then 2. Theodor Roosevelt became president of US. He was the Youngest executive chef – he thought of sea power as ruling power, he had a dreamed of American navy and a American canal •At that time American engineers had achieved the western railroads, the Brooklyn bridge and the sky scrappers in NY•Senate approved Roosevelt to continue the construction of the canal in Panama •Colombia didn’t want to accept the terms •Panamas revolution 1903 which ended quick! The gun boat made Panamanians take the US side not Colombia •Secretary of state 3. John Hay and 4. Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla singed a new treaty in 1903 for The Panama Canal… A compensation of $10 million & US could built the canal anywhere •Everything was very disorganized and yellow fever broke out which made many leave •New chef engineer, American 5. John Findlay Wallace.. quits in 1 yr •6. John Frank Stevens then became the chef of engineer, he had a great reputation, he focus on living conditions•Discovered that malaria and yellow fever was because of the insects •Sanitation was being enforced

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Continue…•1. Dr. William C. Gorgas discovered that malaria & yellow fever came from insects •1905 no more yellow fever• John Stevens quit- reason is unclear •Roosevelt put army officer, 2. colonel George Washington Goethals in charge • 3.Colonel David Gaillard & 4. Colonel William Sibert were assigned important tasks each •Hardest part of the job was done by Barbados•$.10/hr for 6 days a week & no other accommodations •Temp. reached up to 120 degrees with all the machineries operating •Many people died either by rocks flying, or getting stuck under wheels, or by dynamite exploding•Life in construction became stratified, Compensations for engineers officers at the top level •Bottom level ordinary day labors all foreign-1920, 50,000 workers less than 10% where Americans, most were English speaking west Indians, foreign workers blacks got paid silver, whites were paid in gold

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Continue… • The Americans workers were locomotives engineers, surveyors, machines, electricians, informant, school

teachers, nurses and pay masters, and they were paid much more

• All locks were constructed in 36 foot sections and on tracks they would be moved to the next position over all

length was 1,000 feet weigh 110 feet

•Dec. 1991 the canal will be managed by panama but the US will defend the canal and that everybody can use it

• Each lock was probably bigger

than titanic, each lock was actually tallest than the

Eiffel tower • Panama became an attraction once the canal was built • Aug. 15 1914 was finished , cost less

then they predicted 352 million/ 5,609

of which 4,500 were black workers

• With time came the ships from all

the world • The 50 mile

crossing take about 9 hrs

• Most expensive was Queen

Elizabeth 2 fee was $99,000

Los Angeles Aqueduct

•1902, City of Los Angeles bought the Los Angeles City Water Company for $2 million•1854 1. William Mulholland became superintendent of LA City Water Company, he reshaped the future of the water system in LA •11 families founded El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles .. the families constructed the city’s first water system, which was a dam across the river•LA was a semi-desert with a growing population •1902 Annual Report he noticed that the population of LA was using 26 million gallons per day, and made the cut million gallons a day •As population grew, the demand for water went higher Mulholland needed to look for water supply because the river would not have enough•Owens River was the source LA needed for the futureEaton’s proposed to Mulholland to joint venture. Eaton would purchase the land and water rights and the City of LA would build the aqueduct. •Once constructed, the aqueduct give water the LA required, water would also go to the valley •Mulholland didn’t like the idea of joining the venture•Mulholland realized that lands purpose by the federal government could only be 100% public

Continue… •1905 Eaton went to Owens Valley to purchaseland for the City of LA. He made it seem likehe was working for the US Reclamation Service and that he was presenting the public irrigation project•Then the local residents found out they wereaggravated because he was buying land & water right for LA •Once water and land rights were established The Board of Water Commissioners and the Federal Government needed to charge so they could start to build the aqueduct•Roosevelt granted LA rights for the Owens River LA Aqueduct construction began in 1908 •Construction lasted for several years, high paying jobs•World records were set while the aqueduct was being built (for miles of tunnel cutting and length of pipes installed) the crew could dig at a speed of 8 feet per day at each tunnel end- total of 16 feet in a day. Tunnel was finished in 20 months

Continue… •LA Aqueduct was inaugurated November 5, 1913•LA began to grow more in population once it had its owe water system Valley residents fought the City’s water export which lead to more and bigger confrontations •LA bought more tracts in Owens Valley to ensure their water rights As population grown Mulholland looked for ways to bring Colorado River to meet the City’s needs •After WW II, LA began the Mono Basin Project to provide larger and a more dependable flow in for the Aqueduct •The demand for water kept growing, LA could not take the full entitlement from Mono Basin•The California State Water Rights Board wanted LA to take the full entitlement because the water could be granted to others •Since the demand increased a second aqueduct was built from Haiwee Reservoir in Southern Inyo Country to LA•The competition of the 2nd aqueduct and the Los Angeles plans to increase the aqueducts flow by joining Owens Valley groundwater made local people protest

Continue… • Inyo Country filed suits against LA under the new CA

Environmental Quality Act. • Inyo wanted LA to submit an Environmental Impact Report

for the new aqueduct • 1984 after yrs of disagreements/ court hearings Inyo & LA

came to an agreement that they would produce a EIR together

•water quality improved as demand went up… 1986 LA built a filtration plant

• While Mulholland was supervising the aqueducts in Los Angeles, they began a meter program that could help water

conservation in los Angeles water usage. The usage dropped water per capita 178 gallon, and compared to

unmetered cities LA used less than half of water • LA became leaders in water conservation

•LA became the 2nd largest city because of the reliable water supply