The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society brought author Marc Weingarten to the Old Town Newhall Library to talk about his most recent book.

“Thirsty” is the history of Los Angeles and its fraught relationship with water. As a city on the make since the early twentieth century, Los Angeles’ resources fought hard to keep up with its unchecked growth. The city’s water chief, William Mulholland, built an aqueduct to grab water over 200 miles away in Owens Valley, but it wasn’t enough. “Thirsty” is the tale of Los Angeles’ battles for water, the larger-than life characters that shaped a city’s destiny, and the man-made tragedy that killed 400 and forever changed the way water would be harnessed and allocated.

Taped November 19, 2016