Los Angeles uses a lot of water. The majority of it comes from California's most precious resource, the Sierra snow pack. As the snow melts it travels to the San Joaquin Valley where it is collected by man-made reservoirs. The water is regularly released into canals like the "Friant-Kern". From Friant dam in Fresno County to Kern County (where I live) the water flows south. It is then pumped over the Tehachapi mountains (Grapevine) into the homes of Angelinos. The pipes in the background of this shot are part of this system. Watch the movie, Chinatown to see how Los Angeles came to own the rights to this water.