‘There it is. Take it!’ were William Mulholland’s famous words at the inauguration on 5 November 1913 of his monumental engineering project: the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Little did he know of the equally epic environmental consequences the engineering project would have decades later. The aqueduct would become the trigger for a series of unintended actions transcending into the realms of landscape, ecology and design. When the first Los Angeles Aqueduct became operational in 1913, the mighty Owens Lake_ once the third largest lake in California_started its desiccation journey; by 1926 it was dry. Today, the desert lake is emblematic of the enduring contestation of nature and society. ‘What was once a giant dry lake, and not long before a watered one, is now partially occupied by a patchwork of different landscapes. This new “lake” is simultaneously desiccated and watered, natural and man-made’ (p. 16).

中文翻译：

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尘埃的战利品：重塑洛杉矶的湖泊

'就在那里。接受！' 1913 年 11 月 5 日，威廉·穆赫兰 (William Mulholland) 在其具有里程碑意义的工程项目洛杉矶渡槽就职典礼上的名言。他几乎不知道工程项目在几十年后会产生同样史诗般的环境后果。渡槽将引发一系列超出景观、生态和设计领域的意外行为。当第一条洛杉矶渡槽于 1913 年投入使用时，曾经是加州第三大湖的雄伟欧文斯湖开始了它的干燥之旅；到 1926 年，它是干的。今天，沙漠湖象征着自然与社会的持久竞争。'曾经是一个巨大的干湖，不久之前是一个被浇水的湖泊，现在部分地被不同景观的拼凑而成。