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<br />002543 <br /> <br />CHAPTER II <br /> <br />THE WA TER PROBLEM <br /> <br />-1 <br /> <br />Historical Background <br /> <br />The Pacific Southwest is, in general, an arid region charac- <br />terized by limited water supply. Because of abundant. natural <br />resources and unparalleled climatic advantages, its growth and <br />development have exceeded the national averages for many years. <br />Water is the only element necessary to permit this growth to con- <br />tinue in the future. <br /> <br />Some knowledge of the water problems that have been faced in <br />the past is essential to an understanding of present problems. <br />The natural setting of the Pacific Southwest, with its millions <br />of acres of potentially productive lands, favorable climatic condi- <br />tions, and limited water resources, has been a challenge to forward- <br />looking peoples since prehistoric times. <br /> <br />Southern California, which was populated early by the Spanish <br />and then by goldseekers, saw an extensive cattle industry perish <br />in a prolonged drouth before 1880. To maintain their habitation of <br />the coastal plains, wells were drilled to tap the ground water, and <br />an irrigated agricultural economy evolved to replace the cattle <br />industry. <br /> <br />The city of Los Angeles, growing throughout this period on <br />local water supplies, foresaw future water shortages, and, by voting <br />bond issues in 1905 and 1907, made possible the construction of an <br />aqueduct to import water from the Owens Valley, some 240 miles away, <br />beginning in 1913. In 1930, the Owens Aqueduct was extended north- <br />ward another 90 miles into the Mono Basin to intercept more water. <br />With the growth rate continuing, the ground-water levels declined <br />throughout the coastal area to the point where sea water started <br />to intrude into the ground-water basins. Water in addition to that <br />from Los Angeles' Owens Aqueduct was needed, and the Metropolitan <br />Water District of Southern California was formed in 1928 to import <br />water some 240 miles from the Colorado River for distribution to <br />the communities within the district. The search for water has <br />never ended for southern California, as the flood of people, pouring <br />in from allover the Nation, began to utilize the waters that had <br />been made available. In 1960, the Metropolitan Water District of <br />Southern California entered into a contract with the State of <br />California for the future delivery of 1,500,000 acre-feet of water <br />from northern California sources. Other southern California agencies <br />have contracted for approximately 300,000 acre-feet more. An <br />additional approximate 100,000 acre-feet remains to be placed under <br />contract. <br /> <br />ll-l <br />