Beyond Chinatown

Steven P. Erie is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of California, San Diego. His previous books include Globalizing L.A.: Trade, Infrastructure, and Regional Development (Stanford University Press, 2004) and Rainbow's End: Irish Americans and the Dilemmas of Urban Machine Politics (1990).

CONTENTS List of Tables, Figures, and Photos List of Abbreviations Preface PART I: OVERVIEW AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT 1 1. Mighty Metropolitan 2. Ghosts of Chinatown: From L.A.'s DWP to MWD 3. Building and Financing an Empire: Balancing Growth and Equity PART II: MOUNTING CHALLENGES, 1990-2004 4. David and Goliath? San Diego's Quixotic Quest for Independence 5. Empire Under Siege: Colorado River and Bay-Delta Battles 6. Turbulent Waters? Metropolitan Faces Water Markets PART III: AT THE CROSSROADS 7. MWD Agonistes: 21st Century Challenges 8. Charting a New Course Notes Index TABLES, FIGURES, AND PHOTOS Tables 1.1. The Metropolitan Service Area in Global Perspective: Countries Ranked by Year 2002 Gross Domestic Product 1.2. Profile of MWD Member Agencies 7.1. Estimated MWD Water Demand, 2025 7.2. Population Projections for Colorado River Basin States (Excluding California), 2000-2030 (Millions) Figures 1.1. Aqueducts Serving Southern California 1.2. MWD Member Agencies and Service Area 3.1. MWD Revenue Contributions (in 2003 dollars), 1929-2003 3.2. Components of Total MWD Revenue Collected (in current dollars), 1929-1970 and 1971-2003 3.3. LADWP Share of Total MWD Revenue vs. Capital Projects Expenditures, FY 1933-FY 2003 3.4. Unit Cost (in 2003 dollars) per Acre-Foot of MWD Water Delivered, by Counties and the City of Los Angeles, 1929-2003 3.5. Types of MWD Financial Contributions (in 2003 dollars) per Acre-Foot of MWD Water Delivered, by Counties and the City of Los Angeles, 1929-2003 3.6. Estimated Subsidies (in 2003 dollars), by Counties and the City of Los Angeles, 1929-1970 and 1971-2003 3.7. Unit Cost (in 2003 dollars) per Acre-Foot of MWD Water Delivered, by County and the City of Los Angeles, 1929-1970 and 1971-2003 3.8. Average Annual Population Growth Rate, by Counties and the City of Los Angeles, 1929-1970 and 1971-2003 3.9. Unit Cost (in 2003 dollars) per Acre-Foot and Population Growth Rate, City of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties, 1929-1970 and 1971-2003 3.10. Correlation Between Water Subsidy Index and Population Growth Rate by MWD Member Agency, 1929-1970 3.11. Correlation Between Water Subsidy Index and Population Growth Rate by MWD Member Agency, 1971-2003 4.1. L.A. and San Diego Preferential Rights, 2000-2025 7.1. Southern California Population Projections, 2000-2050 7.2. California Population Projections, 2000-2050 7.3. Historical Supply and Demand on the Colorado River, 1935-2003 7.4. Water Storage Levels for Western States, Reservoir Storage as of May 2005 (Preliminary) Photos (following page '.) 1. William Mulholland, first General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power 2. First MWD Board of Directors 3. Joe Jensen, Los Angeles MWD Director and long-serving MWD Board Chair 4. Fred Heilbron, San Diego MWD Director and long-serving San Diego County Water Authority Board Chair 5. Building the Colorado River Aqueduct 6. Colorado River Aqueduct 7. Hoover Dam 8. Parker Dam 9. Parker Intake Plant 10. California Aqueduct/State Water Project 11. The Bay-Delta 12. Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir

"Erie's persuasive argument that the Metropolitan Water District is one of the creative but flawed designers of Southern California is haunted by forgetfulness: We forget where our water comes from...We forget who manages it for us and why water policy is the most important political decision we never get to make...Unfortunately forgetting is what we're best at. It helps explains why we can't move beyond the myths of Chinatown without stories about Los Angeles as reasoned and convincing as Erie's." - L.A. Times Book Review "Beyond Chinatown's merger of history and policy study, set against debunked myth, should serve as a major reorientation for teaching, researching, and planning, not only in Southern California, but in metropolitan regions throughout the world." - Southern California Quarterly "Water history is tough to write, and no one has done it better than Steven P. Erie in this fast-paced narrative based on monumental research. I marvel at the multi-faceted inclusiveness of this story of water, region, politics, engineering, growth, and the environment." - Kevin Starr, University of Southern California "In this pathbreaking history of the MWD, Steve Erie brilliantly debunks L.A.'s greatest urban legend and opens bold new perspectives on the secret history of Southern California." - Mike Davis, U.C. Irvine "Professor Erie lays out for serious students and readers alike a compelling study of the perception and reality of the MET and the major figures and events that define it. The history of real life intrigue revealed is worthy of the Chinatown title, but there is much more here for today's leaders seeking to find a model of success for regional cooperation and accomplishment." - Ron Gastelum, former CEO, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California "In this sweeping history, Erie gives us not only the people, plans, and decisions of a public agency that has allowed a semi-arid region to take water for granted, but also the consequences of those decisions that have assisted in the creation of one of the world's great economies. And then, like a scout at the horizon, he confronts the global challenges facing the future of water for this region - indeed, the future of California. Beyond Chinatown indeed. It's a great read and an important book." - James Flanigan, business and economics Columnist, LA Times and New York Times