Envisioned as early as 1919 as an effort to conserve, control, store, and distribute water to the Central Valley, California's main agricultural region, Shasta was first authorized in the 1930s as a state undertaking. However, bonds did not sell due to the onset of the Great Depression and Shasta was transferred to the federal Bureau of Reclamation as a public works project. Construction started in earnest in 1937 under the supervision of Chief Engineer Frank Crowe. During its building, the dam provided thousands of much-needed jobs; it was finished twenty-six months ahead of schedule in 1945. When completed, the dam was the second-tallest in the United States after Hoover, and was considered one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.
"Frank Crowe: The Dam Builder That Changed the Face of the Earth" interesting read. The guy first managed construction of the Hoover Dam. The US government was in discussion w/him to go to Germany after WW2 to help with reconstruction when he died.
ReplyDeleteThe dam was designed to easily be extended in height by eighteen feet, creating another 290,000 acre feet of storage. Why has this not been done yet?
ReplyDeleteThe guy I bought my house from here in Redding was an engineer at the dam, and he said they were in process, but it takes decades. Not to actually raise the dam, but to acquire the land that would be flooded and deal with all the litigation.
DeleteIn other words, they should have done it in the first place.
Hey, something is very wrong with this photo. Where are all of the Hispanic workers? Today, each one of them would be Hispanic. Times, like the country, have changed.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a year or so ago, I saw a series of photos that involved California farm laborers in the late 30s. Every last one of them was white. Wha-a-a-t? That was supposed to be a job that Americans wouldn't do, or so we were told. It turns out that being a farm laborer is a job that Americans won't do for the slave wagers California farmers want to pay, and which Hispanics will gladly accept.
But if the wages are increased, won't we have to pay much more for the vegetables on our plates? The cost of labor to produce those vegetables is 10% of the total cost. Meanwhile, we are paying for their kids's schooling, their own medical care, and, in many cases, their subsidized housing, so figure the real costs when you are doing the math.
The reservoir is amazing. It impounds four river watersheds, and at lake full has 350 miles of shoreline.
ReplyDeleteThe earthen dam a few miles south of Shasta is the tallest in the nation. Of course, that hadn't yet been built at the time of this photograph.
ReplyDeleteI had read that it was illegal disbursement of funds which derailed the project to add height to Shasta. Sure, it's not called that when its the government that does it. Then it's just called paying off your campaign donors and such.