History in the Making Volume 3 Article 7 2010 A Watershed Event For a Watershed Community: The Development of Flood Control for the Santa Ana River Basin Adam Scott Miller CSUSB Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making Part of the United States History Commons, and the Water Resource Management Commons Recommended Citation Miller, Adam Scott (2010) "A Watershed Event For a Watershed Community: The Development of Flood Control for the Santa Ana River Basin," History in the Making: Vol. 3 , Article 7. Available at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/history-in-the-making/vol3/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Arthur E. Nelson University Archives at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in History in the Making by an authorized editor of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Adam Scott Miller A Watershed Event For a Watershed Community: The Development of Flood Control for the Santa Ana River Basin BY ADAM SCOTT MILLER ABSTRACT: Southern California receives the vast majority of its yearly rainfall in the relatively short time period between the months of December and March. Occasionally, this intense rainfall creates floods that have historically threatened and devastated the communities of this region. The twentieth century proved challenging for local flood control agencies. California experienced tremendous population growth, resulting in migrants settling on the existing floodplains. Unaware of the periodic, hidden menace, newcomers were ruined when rivers and their tributaries flooded. It became clear that a significant change in flood control methods was required.