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This website is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in learning about the history and current issues facing the water and energy sectors in Southern California and the West. The goal of the website is to provide objective information on these topics while also preserving the regional history of water and electricity and disseminating knowledge of the multicultural history of the greater Los Angeles area. One of the unique features of the Water and Power Associates is that it is an independent, membership-funded corporation. This means that the organization is able to provide the public with critical information on water and electric issues without constraints. As a result, the members of the organization are frequently sought out by local and state officials, historians, authors, filmmakers, and others as an informed, reliable resource. In addition to newsletters that cover current pressing issues in Los Angeles and Southern California, our digital online museum showcases early photographs of Los Angeles and surrounding area, including its transportation system, buildings, and way of life, and holds immense importance in preserving and celebrating our cultural heritage. Such a repository offers historical insights, fosters cultural appreciation and identity, facilitates research and education, and ensures the preservation of urban heritage for future generations. The best way to see what we’re up to is to visit our Newsletter Section or click on the link below to see our most current Quarterly Newsletter. |
Latest Newsletter
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Below is a link to the April 2025 on-line Water and Power Associates Newsletter. This issue covers Water and Energy issues which affect our everyday lives here in Southern California.
Highlights include:
◆ US Electric Power Sector – Issues to Watch in 2025 ◆ President’s Column ◆ Water Supply 101 – Where Does LA’s Water Come From? ◆ EIA Projects – More Solar and Less Natural Gas Electricity Production ◆ California EV Sales Have Stalled – What Happens to the State Mandate? ◆ Trump Takes the Wind Out of Wind Energy ◆ Ivanpah Solar Plant to Shut Down ◆ William Mulholland Public Service Award – Duane L. Georgeson ◆ Distinguished Service ‘McCarthy’ Award – Gerald A. (Jerry) Gewe ◆ Transformer Supply and Demand Impacts on Power System Stability ◆ Mystery History Question ◆ Water Supply for 2025 ◆ Water and Power Associates Annual Meeting ◆ Guest Speaker: Haik Movsesian, Supervisor of Distribution Planning, LADWP – Update on Planned Power System Distribution System Upgrades ◆ Guest Speaker: Jonathan Leung, Director of Water Quality, LADWP – Wildfire Restoration of Drinking Water Quality in the Palisades ◆ Save the Date |
Click HERE to see the April 2025 Newsletter
Click HERE to see previous Newsletter editions.
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Featured Article
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In the summer of 2024, photographer Brandon Tauszik traveled from Los Angeles through the Owens Valley to document the city’s 400-mile network of aqueducts and hydropower plants. When Tauszik originally looked for photographs of this system, many of the images he found were from over a century ago, when it was all still new. His own images, echoing the formal style of those earlier ones, capture a strange bifurcation in time: the machines have remained the same, but the present they inhabit has changed. The photos are in color, the population of L.A. has multiplied by an order of ten, and it’s drier out there in the desert. The question of water and power looms with a different kind of urgency from before. In this context, Tauszik’s photographs perform their own kind of maintenance on the system, keeping the conduit open between the public imagination and these otherwise forgotten sites. View the online story in Distillations Magazine HERE. |
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Monthly Meetings and Upcoming Events
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The Water and Power Associates (W&PA) Board Meetings (Zoom and/or In-Person) are held on the second Wednesday of every month from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All W&PA members and their guests are invited to attend. Please R.S.V.P. by contacting us at: webmaster@waterandpower.org
Board Meeting Schedule and Guest Speakers
◆ June 11, 2025
Guest Speaker: TBA Topic: Outreach Acitivities for WPA Location: JFOB (Rm 1471) Hybrid / In-Person Zoom Meeting |
◆ July 9, 2025
Guest Speaker: TBA Topic: LA 100 Plan Update Location: JFOB (Rm 1471) Hybrid / In-Person Zoom Meeting |
Please R.S.V.P. by contacting Jack Feldman at: webmaster@waterandpower.org
Click HERE to see list of previous meetings and speaker summaries.
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Virtual Museum
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Visit our Virtual Museum and see how Water and Power contributed to the development of the City of Los Angeles.
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November 5, 1913 – Opening day celebration of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The man rising just above the flag at right is William Mulholland.
Click HERE to visit our Virtual Museum |
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Historical Photo Archive
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Explore our collection of historical photographs showcasing the evolution of Greater Los Angeles into the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States. See vintage images that capture the city's growth and development over time.
Click HERE to visit our Historical Photo Collection |
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New Museum Search Index
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A new SEARCH INDEX has been added to help navigate through the more than 100 Sections and 20,000 images in our Virtual Museum and Historical Photo Collection. Try it out for a test run.
Click HERE for Search Index |
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Proposed New Water Museum on Olvera Street
New Historical Water Exhibit on Olvera Street
The development of a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Historical Exhibit in the Hammel Building on Olvera Street has been approved by the Commissioners of LADWP and the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument Department (El Pueblo).
This new Exhibit will include the relocation of the existing History of Water Exhibit (which has been closed because it was not accessible to people with disabilities), expanded exhibits highlighting the role of the Department in the founding and development of Los Angeles, and present information on the sustainability efforts being undertaken by LADWP.
The Hammel Building which fronts on Olvera Street and also includes access to North Main Street is particularly suited for this exhibit because it contains an exposed portion of the Zanja Madre (the original water distribution system of Los Angeles). It also has sufficient space (2,600 sq. ft.) to greatly expand the current displays to cover the historical roles of water and power in the development of the City of Los Angeles, as well as allowing for rotating exhibits focusing on current issues.
Click HERE for latest updates |
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Featured Virtual Museum Section (Power)
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LET THERE BE LIGHT!
The Early Los Angeles Streetlights Section explores the evolution of streetlights from gas lamps to the highly efficient LED’s that we see today. It also highlights the beautiful streetlight designs that have illuminated this city throughout the last century.
Click HERE to see more.
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Featured Virtual Museum Section (Water)
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The old Pueblo de Los Angeles relied almost exclusively on the Los Angeles River for its water supply and thus its survival. In the early years water from the river was channeled through a distribution system of crude dams, water wheels and ditches. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, but it wasn’t until ten years later that the City, through a lease contract with the LA Water Works Co., completed its first water system. Click HERE to see more in Water in Early Los Angeles.
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Intake Magazine
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Intake, the magazine produced for LADWP employees and retirees, is now online and updated every quarter! Visit www.LADWPIntake.com and see the latest stories related to local water and energy issues as well as other current LADWP activities. You can also subscribe to receive a quarterly email highlighting the most recently posted stories.
Click HERE to see the latest quarterly Intake Magazine |
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Recent Museum Additions
How much has Los Angeles air quality improved since the 1940s? Find out in our newest section titled: Smog in Early Los Angeles
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| The Hollywood sign is barely visible through the smog in this photo taken from above Lake Hollywood in Cahuenga Pass. |
Another recent addition to our Virtual Museum, Historical LADWP Facts & Figures, includes a chronological listing of significant events in the Department's History.
Also, check out some of our more recent addtions:
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Mystery History
Test your knowledge of Los Angeles History by visiting our Mystery History Section.
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| This June 24, 1965 photo shows the opening ceremony for DWP's General Office Building located at 111 N. Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles. As part of the ceremony the eight fountains outside the building were turned on by granddaughters of the two men who were DWP's first chief engineers. Who were DWP's first two chief engineers? |
Click HERE to visit our Mystery History Section for Answers |
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Special Collections
In our Virtual Museum Section, we offer a collection of oral histories covering the growth and development of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) as seen by the participants – its employees. The collection preserves the stories of distinctive and diverse individuals whose historical experiences have shaped the collective memory of DWP.
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We also have links to special collections, papers and databases that provide unique and diverse perspectives into the history of the municipal water system in Los Angeles during the 20th century.
These collections, hosted by the CSUN Oviatt Digital Library and sponsored by Metabolic Studios, offer researchers insight into the unique history of urban development and the evolution of the municipal water system in Los Angeles. Records in the collections chronicle the roles played by politicians and local politics; private business and industry; civic organizations; and local, state, and federal governmental agencies invested in providing water to the city’s rapidly growing population.
We've added a collection of Commission Reports that highlights significant events in the history of the municipal water and power system in Los Angeles. Featured are early reports related to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Owens Valley and the St. Francis Dam disaster.
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Featured Historical Interview
For an insightful perspective on the relationship between Owens Valley and the City of Los Angeles following the construction of the LA Aqueduct as well as the dynamics between early DWP management and City Officials, read the transcripts of a Steve Erie interview with Robert V. Phillips, Chief Engineer and General Manager of DWP, 1972-75 (Both Mr. Phillips and his father knew and worked with William Mulholland and H. A. Van Norman).
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Have Someting Historical To Share? We Want to Know!
Do you have items to share? We would welcome photos of old buildings, early city views, correspondence, newspapers, early sports teams, and events that pertain to the History of Water and Electricity and/or the History of Los Angeles and Southern California in general. If you would like to retain the originals, we would be happy to scan the items and return them to you.
Take a look in your attics, and think of what you can help us collect for future generations to enjoy! If interested, please contact us at: webmaster@waterandpower.org.
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Help Support Our Cause
Click the Donate button to make a donation via PayPal to the Water and Power Associates, Inc. and support our ongoing endeavors researching, documenting and sharing information about critical water and energy issues, and its history in the development of Southern California.
Note: Water and Power Associates, Inc. is a 501 (c) 4 organization, and donations are deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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