At the time of its initial construction, California’s State Water Project was one of the largest water infrastructure projects in U.S. history. Construction began in 1961, and the first water deliveries reached Southern California in 1972. Spanning over 700 miles from the Feather River watershed in California’s upper northeast to Lake Perris in the south, it remains a marvel of modern engineering and a testament to the state’s 20th century technological dominance. Its construction was witnessed and documented by both the public and the state government, and California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) hosts a massive public photo archive that continues to grow. … In addition to their technical and aesthetic mastery, the images express a sense of utopian optimism. The photos in this essay, all taken from 1962 to 1968, reflect a post-World War II confidence that grand infrastructure could tame and re-engineer where “nature” fell short.

Other water infrastructure news:

• Lost Coast Outpost (Eureka, Calif.): Dam removal activists to rally ahead of Eureka public input sessions next week
• Bloomberg: Aging US water systems are no match for climate change
• CalMatters (Sacramento, Calif.): Opinion: California’s future water supplies depend on the outcomes of four intertwined battles