LOS ANGELES : Mulholland’s Design Not to Blame in Dam Collapse
Engineer William Mulholland’s design was not to blame for the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse, which killed more than 450 people, a geological engineer studying the disaster reported.
After 15 years of study, J. David Rogers concluded that the dam collapsed because its eastern edge sat on an ancient landslide that plowed into it “like a bulldozer blade.” Mulholland and his designers were not aware of the fatal flaw because of the limited geological knowledge at the time, Rogers said in a 30-page chapter of “Engineering Geology Practice in Southern California.”
The 2-year-old dam gave way on March 12, 1928, unleashing 12 billion gallons of water down San Francisquito Canyon and 54 miles through Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Ventura before reaching the sea. Twelve days later, an investigative panel appointed by then-Gov. C.C. Young blamed Mulholland’s design for the disaster.
Mulholland was a broken man when he retired later that year as chief engineer of the city’s Bureau of Water Works and Supply, the precursor to the Department of Water and Power.
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