| Floods in the County of Los Angeles have been recorded as far back as the days of the Mission Padres. For centuries waters have swept out of the San Gabriel Mountains causing extensive property damage and taking a great toll of lives.
Such a flood occurred in 1914 causing over $10 million in property damage and taking many lives. As a result, the State legislature in 1915 enacted the statute creating the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. The responsibilities and authority vested in the Flood Control District were, in 1985, transferred to and are now part of the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works.
Public Works, under the Flood Control Act, has two tasks. . .control the floods and conserve the water.
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| Successful early bond issues financed construction of the 15 dams which Public Works built in the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills to impound storm waters until they could be safely released. Debris basins were constructed to trap eroded materials which had caused terrible damage in the past. Flood channel improvements were undertaken to confine the waters and convey them safely through the urbanized areas to the ocean.
District engineers prepared a Comprehensive Plan in the early 1930s, which would control flooding and save as much of the water as practicable when fully implemented.
Federal legislation in 1936 brought the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers into the local flood control picture. Since that time, the two agencies have been jointly pursuing implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. Public Works also cooperates with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and Forest Service in erosion control.
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| In addition to its flood control program, Public Works has the equally important mission of conserving as much of the storm and other waste waters as practicable. The use of water conservation facilities in or adjacent to river channels and their tributaries permits water to be percolated into groundwater aquifers or basins for later pumping and supply to consumers. These water conservation facilities are located in areas where the underlying soils are composed of porous sands and gravel formations. Some are shallow and resemble rice paddies, while others are deep basins which were once gravel pits.
The importance of this activity is apparent when it is realized that about 30 to 40 percent of the water used in the County is pumped from groundwater supplies. The growth of the County, combined with periodic droughts, seriously depleted these supplies on numerous occasions throughout the history of the County.
Other major conservation efforts by Public Works include combatting the serious salt water intrusion into groundwater supplies inland from the Pacific Ocean and utilizing imported and reclaimed water to help replenish groundwater supplies.
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Day-to-day administration of Public Works affairs is vested in the Director of Public Works who is appointed by and responsible to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. A part of Public Works' activities involve the planning, design, and construction of flood control and water conservation facilities, and the operation and maintenance of dams, debris basins, spreading grounds, channels, and storm drains.
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