The Dilemma of Water in the City - Politics of Urban Runoff: Nature, Technology, and the Sustainable City - page 7

Figure 1.1
The Los Angeles River as the quintessential example of the Promethean Project applied to
urban drainage. (Note that the project is not complete; the rationalized channel still includes
vegetation and wildlife.)
has been dominated by rational, scientifi c approaches to size drainage
networks and convey stormwater from cities as quickly as possible, a
logic that can be summarized as “end of pipe, out of sight, out of mind.” 32
The logic of technical effi ciency is exemplifi ed by the Los Angeles River, a
51-mile-long concrete channel built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
in the 1940s to tame an unruly waterbody (see fi gure 1.1). 33 Refl ecting on
the channel, Gandy notes, “The peculiar landscape of the river channel—
its apparent emptiness and artifi ciality—reinforces a general perception
that everything in Los Angeles has been artifi cially constructed.” 34 As
such, the rational approach to urban runoff with its emphasis on effi cient
conveyance entails particular assumptions about the relationship between
nature and society.
Recognition of End-of-Pipe Pollution Problems
The increased effi ciency of sewer networks to capture and expel wastes
resulted in markedly improved sanitary conditions in cities but created
unanticipated end-of-pipe pollution problems. 35 With all wastewater net-
works, the ultimate outlet was, and continues to be, local waterways.
Engineers and public health offi cials of the nineteenth century believed