Oral Histories
Interview of A. M. Rawn
Sanitary engineer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District
- Subtitle:
- Sanitary Engineer
- Series:
- Oral History of California Water Resources Development
- Topic:
- Urban Planning and Land UseWater Resources
- Biographical Note:
- Sanitary engineer for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District
- Interviewee:
- Rawn, A. M.
- Persons Present:
- Petersen and Rawn.
- Place Conducted:
- Rawn's home in Los Angeles, California.
- Supporting Documents:
- Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
- Interviewer Background and Preparation:
- The interview was conducted by Eric Petersen; B.A., U.S. History; M.A., U.S. History, UCLA.
- Processing of Interview:
- The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency using a list of proper names and specialized terminology supplied by the interviewer. Rawn was then given an opportunity to review the transcript and made a few corrections and additions. Those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.
- Length:
- 3.75 hrs.
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
- Series Statement:
- This series had its origin in a grant from the University of California Water resources Center in 1965. The project was a joint effort by the UCLA Oral History Program and the Regional Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley. For some years after the close of the grant period, limited interviewing in this area continued.
- Abstract:
- Family background; education in Toledo, Ohio; first engineering job with railroad; learning mathematics and engineering from coworkers; employed by United States Bureau of Reclamation; Yakima-Sunnyvale Project; Boise Project; Salt River Project; World War I military service; move to Los Angeles, 1922; employment with Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts; American Society of Civil Engineers; planning sewage-disposal system; water pollution in California; promotion to chief engineer and general manager, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, 1941; sewage disposal problems of Los Angeles and surrounding area; decision to tunnel under Palos Verdes Hills; sewage reclamation issue; appointment to California State Water Pollution Board, 1953; chairman, 1953-61; report cowritten with Harold Hedger on sewage reclamation plan, 1958; completion of proposed plan.