jump to navigation search los angeles department of water and power agency overview formed water 1902 electric 1916 preceding agency los angeles city water company type water infrastructure headquarters john ferraro building 111 north hope street los angeles california 34 03 29 n 118 14 58 w 34.0580 n 118.2495 w 34.0580 ; 118.2495 coordinates 34 03 29 n 118 14 58 w 34.0580 n 118.2495 w 34.0580 ; 118.2495 employees 8 611 employees annual budget us828 million fy2010 agency executive david h. wright general manager website www.ladwp.com footnotes 1 the los angeles department of water and power ladwp is the largest municipal utility in the united states serving over four million residents . it was founded in 1902 to supply water to residents and businesses in los angeles and surrounding communities . in 1917 it started to deliver electricity . it has been involved in a number of controversies and media portrayals over the years including the 1928 st. francis dam failure and the books water and power and cadillac desert . ladwp can currently deliver a maximum of 7 200 megawatts of power and in each year 200 billion us gallons 760 million cubic meters of water . contents 1 history 1.1 private operators 1.2 public control 1.3 power delivery 1.4 notable events and controversies 2 governance 2.1 board of water and power commissioners 2.1.1 current board of water and power commissioners 2.2 executive management 3 headquarters 4 service territory 5 operational systems 5.1 power system 5.2 electricity mix 5.3 water system 6 media portrayals 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit private operators edit by the middle of the 19th century los angeles s rapid population growth magnified problems with the city s water distribution system . at that time a system of open ditches often polluted was reasonably effective at supplying water to agriculture but was not suited to providing water to homes . in 1853 the city council rejected as excessive a closed pipe system that would serve homes directly . 2 as a solution the city allowed water carriers with jugs and horse drawn wagons to serve the city s domestic water needs . 2 it took until 1857 for the council to realize that the system needed to be updated which led them to grant william g. dryden franchise rights to provide homes with water through a system of underground water mains . the initial system served only a few homes using an unreliable network of wooden pipes . in december 1861 heavy rains destroyed the system and dryden gave up his franchise . the city attempted contracting out water distribution rights to others but none of the systems that resulted from these contracts was successful . the city s previous unsuccessful attempts to allow others to develop a water system on its behalf prompted the city council to relinquish its rights to the water in the los angeles river in 1868 which benefited john s. griffen solomon lazard and prudent beaudry three already successful businessmen . this change was at the expense of the city of los angeles which could no longer benefit from their municipal water distribution business . the three men created the los angeles city water company which violated many of the provisions of its lease on the los angeles river including secretly tunneling under the river to extract 150 times as much water as the lease allowed . as a result as the end of the lease drew near in the mid 1890s popular support began to build for a return to complete municipal control of the local water supply . 2 public control edit the john ferraro building ladwp headquarters in downtown los angeles the leader in the fight to end private control of the water supply was fred eaton . eaton proposed that tax revenues would enable the city of los angeles to provide water to its residents without charging them for the use of water directly . eaton s views were especially powerful because of his distinguished record of achievement in both the private and public sector . 2 during eaton s nine year term as the superintending engineer of the los angeles city water company he headed a large expansion of the company s water system . eaton left his position in 1886 when he was elected city engineer . in his new public position eaton devoted his time to updating and expanding the sewer system . eaton felt that the los angeles city water company was not serving the citizens of los angeles well because of high rates and because the company frequently paid dividends to its stockholders instead of improving the water system . in early 1897 city engineers began creating plans for an updated water system while the city council informed the los angeles city water company that its lease would not be renewed beyond its expiration date july 21 1898 . in early 1898 the city began talks with the los angeles city water company about taking over the company s current water system . throughout the negotiations it became clear that it was necessary for the current senior employees of the los angeles city water company to keep their jobs in order to ensure that the water system could continue to operate . it was not guaranteed however that william mulholland eaton s prot g and the man who took over the job of superintending engineer when eaton was elected city engineer would have a position working with the city owned water system . mulholland was not popular with city officials because he did not produce records that the city requested during negotiations . near the end of the talks between the city and the water company it was discovered that neither the requested records nor a map of the water system existed . mulholland who was supposed to be in charge of the non existent records was never a fan of paperwork and claimed that he had memorized all of the necessary information including the size of every inch of pipe and the age and location of every valve . 2 mulholland secured a job with the city when he successfully demonstrated his ability to recall the information . once mulholland was assured a job with the city he intervened with the company s principal stockholder advising him to accept the city s offer of two million dollars for the system . 2 power delivery edit the ladwp first offered municipal electricity in 1917 when powerhouse no. 1 a hydroelectric power plant located in san francisquito canyon and which is powered by the los angeles aqueduct began generating electricity . it ultimately produced 70.5 megawatts and is still in operation producing 44.5 megawatts . three years later in 1920 powerhouse no. 2 was added . the powerhouse was destroyed when the st. francis dam failed but the plant was completely rebuilt and back in service by november 1928 . it remains in operation today having the capacity to generate 18 megawatts . on january 17 1994 the city of los angeles experienced its one and only total system black out as a result of the northridge earthquake . much of the power was restored within a few hours . in september 2005 a dwp worker accidentally cut power lines that caused over half of los angeles to be without power for one and one half hours . 3 notable events and controversies edit main articles st. francis dam and california water wars in 1928 the st. francis dam built and operated by the ladwp which at the time the water department division was named the bureau of water works and supply collapsed catastrophically with its reservoir filled . the disaster considered to be one of the worst american civil engineering disasters of the 20th century remains the second greatest loss of life in california s history after only the 1906 san francisco earthquake and fire . the ensuing flood caused devastation to present day valencia newhall and the cities in the santa clara river valley taking the lives of up to 600 people . 4 the high death toll was due in part to confusion and mis communication by and between employees of both the ladwp and southern california edison who also had facilities and operations in the area which led to the lack of prompt warnings being sent to the downriver communities . 5 those cities included piru fillmore santa paula and san buenaventura . mulholland assumed full responsibility for the disaster and retired the next year . the pall of the disaster hung over him until his death in 1935 . the ladwp has been a leading actor in the struggle over access to water from the owens valley starting with its initial acquisition of water rights as well as buying out farms and asserting control over mono lake and owens lake . the ladwp and william mulholland played a key role in the development of hoover dam and bringing its energy to los angeles . the ladwp continued to operate the hoover dam electrical facility until 1987 . on october 10 2011 the ladwp along with the community redevelopment agency of los angeles and the los angeles cleantech alliance founded the la cleantech incubator . 6 governance edit board of water and power commissioners edit the ladwp is governed by the five member los angeles board of water and power commissioners who are appointed by the mayor of los angeles and confirmed by the los angeles city council for staggered five year terms . 7 the board sets policy for the department of water and power the city owned electricity and water company and votes on utility rates renewable energy projects and pension tiers for ladwp employees . 8 the board of water and power commissioners meets regularly on the first and third tuesdays of each month at 11 00 a.m. regular meeting agendas are available to the public at least 72 hours before the board meets . 9 on august 16 2013 mayor eric garcetti nominated four new appointees to the board of water and power commissioners mel levine william w. funderburk jr. michael f. fleming and jill banks barad . the four commissioners were confirmed by the los angeles city council on september 11 2013 10 joining christina e. noonan on the panel . noonan was previously appointed by former mayor antonio villaraigosa . 11 current board of water and power commissioners edit mel levine president term until june 30 2014 . mel levine was a partner at the international law firm of gibson dunn & crutcher from 1993 until 2012 . he continues to be of counsel to the firm . 12 he served as a member of the united states congress from 1983 until 1993 and as a member of the california state assembly from 1977 to 1982 . 13 william w. funderburk jr. vice president term until june 30 2017 . william w. funderburk is a founding partner of castell n & funderburk llp a business litigation boutique law firm in los angeles and the san francisco bay area . he has practiced at the firm since 1999 . 14 michael f. fleming commissioner term until june 30 2020 . michael fleming has been the executive director of the david bohnett foundation since 2000 . 15 in 2010 he was appointed by u.s. president barack obama to the white house council for community solutions . jill banks barad commissioner term until june 30 2016 . jill banks barad is a civic leader and operates her political consulting public relations and government affairs firm jill barad & associates . 16 christina e. noonan commissioner term until june 30 2016 . christina e. noonan is a senior vice president of commercial real estate services and investment management company jones lang lasalle . 17 executive management edit the general manager senior assistant general managers chief financial officer and managing senior