Zanja Madre
The original open, earthen ditch, or zanja was completed by community laborers within a month of founding the pueblo.
They had three types of settlements in Alta California: presidio (military), mission (religious) and pueblo (civil).
Governor Felipe de Neve took the assignment of creating this settlement very seriously and had elaborate plans drawn up outlining the details of its infrastructure.
"[3] It was also directed that the pueblo be placed on moderately elevated ground so that all the agricultural lands benefiting from the irrigation could be overlooked.
The soft, sandy tunnel collapsed several times and attempts were made to repair it with brick lining, but the whole aqueduct was abandoned in 1884 after a flood tore out the wooden dam.
After this last failure the earthen toma and open ditch were put back into service while more elaborate plans were being made.
Over the years the portion of the Zanja Madre that passed around the north edge of the River Train Yard was realigned again and again until railroad construction eventually demolished most of the conduits as the city built newer types of water systems.
Later, archaeologists overseeing site operations near the MTA Gold Line studied the portions of uncovered brick conduit.
[9] The careless and rushed removal of a 40-foot portion (12 m) of the Zanja Madre to allow the development to continue without delay has been criticized in the editorial pages of the Daily News[10] and by KCET Departures.
