Water War: The Fight for California Water in the 1920s

By James R. Morris

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 ranch and its water, Alice is attacked, and their cattle are poisoned. Then, when the aqueduct that carries the water to the thirsty 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?

WATER WAR is historical fiction about the water war between the people of Owens Valley and Los Angeles during the 1920s. In the early 1900s, Los Angeles needed more water for its rapidly growing population. The city found its water supply in the isolated Owens Valley, 200 miles to the north, and built an aqueduct to carry it through the desert to the thirsty city.

Then, as the city took ever more water in the 1920s, the local residents resisted by attacking the aqueduct. WATER WAR tells the story of this struggle from the point of view of the ranchers who fought to keep their water and their way of life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GGW336NX
• ISBN13: 9798295539862
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: James R. Morris
• Length: 356 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"