The Rainmaker Who May Have Flooded San Diego

The Rainmaker Who May Have Flooded San Diego | San Diego Uncovered

San Diego Uncovered

The Rainmaker Who May Have Flooded San Diego

Did San Diego really hire a man to make it rain—only to have him make it rain too much?

It sounds more like the plot of a movie than San Diego history.

But in December 1915, San Diego officials agreed to a proposition from a self-proclaimed rainmaker named Charles Mallory Hatfield. His task was extraordinary: help fill the city's Morena Reservoir, and he would receive $10,000.

Within weeks, San Diego wasn't worrying about drought anymore.

It was dealing with one of the most devastating floods in the region's history.

And more than a century later, the question remains:

Did Charles Hatfield actually make it rain?

San Diego Had a Water Problem

Water has shaped San Diego almost from the beginning.

By the early 1900s, the growing city was increasingly concerned about having enough water to support its population and future development.

Morena Reservoir had been built in the backcountry, but it had never completely filled. By late 1915, city leaders were concerned about available water reserves and future demand.

That's when Charles Hatfield entered the story.

Meet San Diego's "Rainmaker"

Hatfield didn't particularly like being called a rainmaker.

He preferred the considerably more scientific-sounding title:

"Moisture Accelerator."

Hatfield had experimented with rainmaking since the early 1900s and developed a secret chemical mixture that he claimed could encourage precipitation.

Exactly what was in it?

That was his secret.

Historical accounts indicate that Hatfield eventually claimed his formula involved more than 20 chemicals. He never publicly revealed the exact recipe.

Hatfield had already attracted attention for supposed rainmaking successes elsewhere in the West.

So when San Diego wanted water, he made the city an interesting proposition.

The $10,000 Deal

In December 1915, Hatfield offered to help fill Morena Reservoir.

His price:

$10,000.

San Diego officials agreed in principle to the proposal.

Historical accounts indicate that a formal written contract was never fully completed before Hatfield began his work.

From the city's perspective, the proposition probably seemed almost too good to refuse.

If Hatfield failed, the city didn't have to pay him.

If he succeeded, San Diego would receive an enormous amount of desperately needed water.

What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, apparently.

Hatfield Builds His Rainmaking Tower

Hatfield established his operation near Morena Reservoir.

He constructed elevated platforms or towers where containers holding his chemical mixture could be exposed to the atmosphere.

Hatfield believed the chemicals encouraged moisture already present in the atmosphere to produce rainfall.

Then everyone waited.

In early January 1916, rain began falling around the reservoir.

Soon, the weather became much more serious.

Heavy storms moved across the region.

And it kept raining.

San Diego Goes From Drought to Disaster

The rainfall became extraordinary.

• Rivers overflowed.
• Bridges were damaged or destroyed.
• Railroad tracks washed away.
• Roads became impassable.
• Telephone and telegraph connections were severed.
• Communities throughout the region became isolated.

Mission Valley looked very different in 1916 than it does today.

Instead of freeways, hotels, shopping centers and office buildings, much of the valley remained undeveloped.

During the storms, the San Diego River expanded dramatically across the valley, carrying debris downstream and causing extensive damage.

And then things became even worse.

Lower Otay Dam Breaks

Following the enormous rainfall, the original Lower Otay Dam failed.

A massive surge of water rushed downstream through the Otay Valley, destroying homes, bridges and other structures in its path.

People died.

Families lost homes, livestock and possessions.

One particularly heartbreaking chapter involved the Little Landers colony near present-day San Ysidro.

Little Landers had been created around an unusual idea: families could supposedly support themselves by farming relatively small parcels of land.

The 1916 flooding devastated the community.

Homes, agricultural improvements and livestock were swept away, and the disaster contributed heavily to the eventual collapse of the settlement.

What began as San Diego's desperate search for water had become a regional catastrophe.

So...Did Hatfield Actually Cause It?

That's where the story gets fascinating.

Hatfield certainly believed his methods worked.

Plenty of people at the time appear to have believed him too.

But there's an enormous problem with giving Hatfield either credit or blame:

Major Pacific storm systems were already producing the rainfall.

Historical weather analysis shows that the region was experiencing powerful winter storms independently of Hatfield's activities.

There is no accepted scientific evidence showing that Hatfield's chemical towers caused the storms.

From Hatfield's perspective, however, there was another important fact:

Morena Reservoir filled.

He believed he had done exactly what San Diego asked him to do.

And he wanted his $10,000.

San Diego Suddenly Had a Different Problem

Paying Hatfield created an interesting dilemma.

If San Diego officially acknowledged that Hatfield caused the rain, could the city also become responsible for damage caused by the flooding?

Historical accounts describe a dispute over payment and liability.

Hatfield maintained that he had fulfilled his obligation.

The city never paid him the $10,000.

The Ultimate San Diego Catch-22

That's what makes the Hatfield story so fascinating.

If Hatfield didn't make it rain, perhaps San Diego didn't owe him anything.

But if Hatfield did make it rain...

San Diego may have had much bigger problems than a $10,000 invoice.

Either way, Charles Hatfield became permanently connected to the disaster.

The January 1916 catastrophe would forever be associated with the man who promised to bring San Diego rain.

More Than a Century Later, We Still Don't Know His Formula

Hatfield continued practicing rainmaking after his San Diego experience.

He became one of America's best-known practitioners of the unusual profession.

But perhaps one of the most intriguing parts of the story is what Hatfield didn't leave behind:

His complete formula.

He kept the precise chemical recipe secret throughout his life.

Modern meteorology gives us good reason to doubt that one man's chemical evaporation tower created one of Southern California's most destructive storm systems.

But the timing was extraordinary enough that the legend has survived for more than a century.

Imagine This Happening Today

It's difficult to imagine someone walking into San Diego City Hall today and saying:

"Give me $10,000 and I'll make it rain."

It's even harder to imagine city officials responding:

"You've got a deal."

But San Diego was a very different place in 1915.

The region was growing rapidly, reliable water was essential to its future, and civic leaders were willing to pursue ambitious solutions.

Charles Hatfield promised San Diego water.

San Diego got water.

A lot of it.

Whether Hatfield had anything to do with that remains one of the strangest questions in San Diego history.

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Sources & Further Reading

• San Diego History Center — Charles Hatfield and the 1916 Flood
• San Diego History Center — The Rainmaker
• City of San Diego Digital Archives — Charles Hatfield