Urban water diplomacy: A policy history of the metropolitan water supply in the twentieth century Southern California

This dissertation examines the history of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) from its founding to the present, as a case study in the urban water resources policy-making. Although histories of local public policies tend to ignore the institutional context of federalism, in fact, the judicial, legislative, and administrative branches of local, state, and federal levels affect the decision-making process. This dissertation, therefore, explains policy processes in the broadest possible context.;In 1928 eleven municipalities formed the MWD--chartered by the state legislature--in order to collectively import Colorado River water. Today, the Metropolitan, with the imported water from the Colorado and Northern California rivers, serves a sprawling area of over 5,000 square miles including more than 120 municipal members, and an exploding population of almost 15 million people in six counties from Ventura to San Diego. How and why has the agency evolved into its current status? What was the MWD's original mission? How did it change over time and why? Who got involved, and with what motivation?;Bearing the above general questions in mind, this dissertation critically examines a persistent myth: the City of Los Angeles, as one of the many MWD members but with the largest economic and political resources, has controlled the Metropolitan (and hence the other members). The title of this dissertation connotes a series of policy negotiations and compromises throughout the historical development of the MWD. The historical reality seems to suggest a more pluralistic model of decision-making rather than the simplistic LA-dominance-model.;"Pluralistic," however, does not necessarily mean "democratic" when considering the nature of the water resources decision-making structure. The framers of this agency planned to insulate the MWD's policy-makers from politics and popular control. Why was this sort of decision-making structure built? How has the nature of this arrangement been evaluated and altered over time? And where is it going?;The planning, researching, and writing of this dissertation has paralleled the maturation of the field of water history. This dissertation hopes to add a new page to the growing historiography of water resources studies--particularly in the modern American West.