Changes

The Los Angeles Water Wars, which have been (perhaps incorrectly) immortalized in by Roman Polanski's ''Chinatown,'' emerged against this backdrop. Fighting for water justified legal cunning and violence for many Angelenos in the late 19th and early 20th century. When a lengthy long drought from 1892-1904 threatened to damper Los Angeles' growth and survival, city official officials recognized the need to find a new source of water quickly. The Mayor of Los Angeles, through bribery and trickery, facilitated the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct to feed the water needs of Los Angeles--much to the detriment of those where the water came from--the Owens Valley.