His most significant achievement was managing the construction of a canal system that transformed the Colorado Desert (in southern California into a verdant agricultural development known as the Imperial Valley.

[2][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] He is also infamous for directing modifications to that same canal system which led to the accidental creation of the Salton Sea in southern California.

His mother was a direct descendant of John Robinson, one of the organizers of the Mayflower expedition which established the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts prior to the founding of the U.S.[4][21][6] From a very young age, Rockwood desired a good education.

There he did survey work in Sonora, California and the state's Colorado Desert, confirming the potential of irrigating those lands for farming.

[2][3][27][28][29][30][26][6] During the first couple years of operation, silt deposits built up in the upper section of the Alamo Canal reducing the amount of water it could deliver to the Imperial Valley.

[1][31][32][33][34][35][36] In September 1904 Rockwood directed his engineers and workers to dig the largest of these new channels, bypassing the silt clogged section of the canal.

Instead of following its usual course to the Gulf of California, the entire volume of the Colorado River flowed into the canal system and onto the Imperial Valley and Salton Sink.

Later that year, just before the flooding of the Salton Sink was halted, he severed his ties with the CDC and moved within California to Los Angeles.

[49] The efforts he made in creating a canal system to bring water to the Colorado Desert turned the region into productive farmland.

His efforts to save the valley from drought would never have been necessary if the man in charge of construction for the Alamo Canal, George Chaffey, had followed the original plans.

Chaffey changed the route of the canal, modified its design, and improperly constructed a headgate at Pilot Knob, California.

If not for all of the mistakes made by Chaffey, Rockwood would never have been forced to dig the channel that led to the flooding and creation of the Salton Sea.

[64] Charts that tracked the rising level of the sea were included with these stories, furthering the narrative that farms were in danger of being flooded.

[6][66] While certain businesses like the New Liverpool Salt works and Southern Pacific Railroad suffered damages resulting from the flooding, the vast majority farms that existed at the time were not in any imminent danger.

Given the average flow volume of the Colorado River is about 14 cubic miles per year, it would take a long time to completely flood.