Water for Owens Lake: Times Change

In her column of Nov. 21, Patt Morrison attacks a shadowy group of rich and powerful people for “drying up the Owens Valley” by building the Los Angeles-Owens River Aqueduct for greedy purposes. She cites the city’s return of a portion of this water supply to dry Owens Lake to control dust as partial retribution for this villainy.

There are many historians who would disagree with Morrison’s premise. William Mulholland, the only name she mentions, was a salaried city employee and hardly a rich man who profited from the construction. Some of the people she alludes to foresaw the value of bringing this water to the dry San Fernando Valley, and it is no secret that they profited by land speculation. However, in the main these were city officials and civic leaders who were worried about water shortages at that time and a need for an adequate water supply to support the city’s future prosperity. Among them was Harrison Gray Otis, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times.

Leon Furgatch

Granada Hills