of Nine) in 1889 in order to "secure a safe and reliable water supply from the San Gabriel River and to protect the rights to and interests in the river on behalf of committee members." Under the Compromise Agreement of 1889 – which is still in effect today – the Committee of Nine was given the right to administer the distribution of San Gabriel River waters, up to per year. All water flows above this amount are administered by the San Gabriel Valley Protective Association. 20th century In the early 1900s, the growing city of Los Angeles began to look to the San Gabriel River for its water supply. However, initial plans were rejected because all the water was already used by farmers, except for floods in the winter. At the time it was believed that the silt-laden, flood-prone San Gabriel River could not be dammed in a safe or efficient manner to conserve this stormwater. In 1913, Los Angeles county engineer Frank Olmstead declared that the cost of a dam on the San Gabriel River would be greater than the economic benefits. When the Los Angeles Aqueduct opened that year, bringing water from the distant Owens Valley, it made possible the urbanization that would eventually replace the vast majority of farmland along the San Gabriel River. During this time, new industries moved into the San Gabriel River area, attracting more urban dwellers to the region. A significant development was the discovery of oil in the Whittier Narrows, reportedly by nine-year-old Tommy Temple in 1912; however, it was not until 1915 when the Standard Oil Company of California sank a well there, and by 1920 almost 100 wells were pumping along the San Gabriel River. The Montebello Oil Field remains a productive oil-producing region today. The creation of the Pacific Electric interurban railway system in 1911, by a merger of eight local streetcar companies, was a major factor in the growth of new communities along the San Gabriel River, by linking them with downtown Los Angeles. The system was used not only by commuters, but to export agricultural products out of the San Gabriel Valley. A major engineering feat was the Puente Largo ("Great Bridge") built in 1907 to carry the PE Monrovia–Glendora Line over the San Gabriel River. At the time of its construction it was the largest bridge ever built in southern California. The San Gabriel River flooded