Technology
The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts, which were used to transport water across long distances. The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE. The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE. Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 kilometers, but less than seventy kilometers of this was above ground and supported by arches.
William Mulholland
In 1906, the Los Angeles Board of Water Commissioners appointed Mulholland the Chief Engineer of the Bureau of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. From 1907 through 1913, Mulholland directed the building of the aqueduct. The Los Angeles Aqueduct, inaugurated in November 1913. The project required 3900 workers at its peak, and involved the digging of 164 tunnels. Construction began in 1908. The complexity of the project has been compared to the building of the Panama Canal. Water from the Owens River reached a reservoir in the San Fernando Valley on November 5, 1913. At a ceremony that day, Mulholland spoke his famous words about this engineering feat: "There it is. Take it."