California Thirst

CALIFORNIA THIRST

California Thirst is historical fiction about the struggle for water between the Owens Valley and Los Angeles in the early 20th Century.

In the early part of the century, Los Angeles lacked sufficient water for its rapidly growing population. It began acquiring water rights in the Owens Valley, over 200 miles north of the city, and built an aqueduct to carry the water to the thirsty city. Then, in the 1920s, as the city took ever more water from the valley, local residents resisted with numerous attacks on the aqueduct. California Thirst tells the story from the perspective of the ranchers who fought to keep their water and their way of life.

Owens Valley ranchers, Alice and Fred, have water that Los Angeles wants. The LA water agent will go to any length to get it. When they refuse to sell their water, Alice is attacked, and their cattle are poisoned. Then, when the LA aqueduct carrying the water 200 miles to the city is dynamited, all eyes turn toward Fred. Did he fire the first shot in the years-long war between Owens Valley and Los Angeles during the 1920s?