To become the major metropolis it is today, Los Angeles periodically engaged in less than reputable means to secure the water it desperately needed -- particularly for a city built on a semi-arid coastal plain, surrounded by desert on three sides and an ocean on the fourth.

From the freshwater battle to obtain drinking water and irrigation to the saltwater battle regarding the Port of Los Angeles and control over its lucrative trade potential, the city’s history is fraught with “water wars.”

What lessons can we learn from a time, more than 100 years ago, when L.A.’s water was an even more hotly contested commodity than it is today and access to it was associated with class and privilege, as depicted in the iconic film Chinatown?

Participants:

William Deverell, USC Dornsife professor of history, spatial sciences and environmental studies.

Geraldine Knatz '77, '79, USC Dornsife alumna, professor of the practice of policy and engineering at USC Price School of Public Policy and USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and former executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

Moderator: Alex Cohen, host of Spectrum News 1's "Inside the Issues with Alex Cohen".

Watch the discussion on YouTube.

Learn more about the Dornsife Dialogues and sign up for the next live event here.