Water in the desert

	Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley are located in a desert. There is not enough water for farms, or people to survive. If the area was to be develop more water was needed. The question is where do you find water and how do you get it to where it is needed.
The Owens Valley, located north of Los Angeles, had lots of water. Los Angeles decided they would bring the water south to their thirsty land.
	Dubbed the "Panama Canal of the West," the project to bring water to LA required the massing of 3,900 workers and the digging of 164 tunnels, almost 52 miles in all.
On Nov. 13, 1913, all eyes were on the first Sierra Nevada water to arrive in the Valley through William Mulholland's aqueduct. The original cascade remains in use beside Interstate 5 in Sylmar, below a newer channel.
	At the ceremony marking the occasion, the laconic Mulholland uttered what may be the five most famous words in the city’s history, "There it is. Take It."
Because most of our rain comes in the Winter months is is necessary to store water for use during the dry months. Several dams were constructed to store the precious liquid.
	In the early days our valley looked much different then it does today. This is the intersection of today's Ventura Boulevard (foreground) and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, in the real estate development of Girard. The subdivision opened in 1923 and failed during the Depression, but later saw new life as Woodland Hills. Water made the difference.