3. Dirt, Water & Power

Who pays for the growth of a world‑class city?

In this episode of Once Upon a Bay, Mike and Kate sit down with historical geographer Gray Brechin, author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin. Together, they trace how gold, mercury, dirt, and long‑distance water grabs turned shared waters into real estate, wealth, and leverage for a handful of powerful landholders.

From hydraulic gold mining that poured eight Panama Canals of sediment into the water, to filling in one-third of the Bay to create more real estate, to water schemes that irrigate cities like high‑value crops... this is the story of how imperial San Francisco grew by conquering other people’s rivers, lands, and lives.

Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878.

🌊 Learn More

• To see images and other information about this episode, go to https://www.onceuponabay.org/post/more-about-episode-3-dirt-water-power.
• If you’d like to help protect and celebrate San Francisco Bay, visit onceuponabay.org and click the button that says “Be a Keeper!"

🌊 Credits

• This episode was produced with the assistance of Sam Anderson and Earthstory Studios.
• Theme music by Zac Bentz.
• Voice work by Ted McDonald.
• “The Gold Rush Is Over” by Smokey Hormel was recorded live at WFMU on Jeffrey Cobb's Show on 4/3/2008. It is licensed under an Attribution 3.0 International License.
• “Oh, Susannah” was recorded by violinist Lauren Abels and graciously donated to this episode. Abels is the founder of The Tune Project at https://www.thetuneproject.org/.
• “Healing Water” by David Renda; “Mighty Russia” by Steve Oxen; “It Is Coming” by David Fesliyan. Royalty free music from https://www.FesliyanStudios.com. Please DO NOT add this audio content to the Youtube Content ID System. This content is owned by FesliyanStudios.
• Cover art by Level Five Graphics, Inc.