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<br />onn49 <br /> <br />Chapter III <br /> <br />WATER SUPPLY AND REQUIREMENTS IN THE <br />PACIFIC SOUTHWEST <br /> <br />Water supply data indicates that sufficient future natural supplies in <br />the river will not be available to operate both the Central Arizona Proj- <br />ect and meet California's uses (even when cut to 4.4 million acre-feet a <br />year) without import of new supplies into the basin. It is appropriate <br />at this point, thcrefore, to cxamine the matter of total water availability <br />in the Pacific Southwest. <br /> <br />THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST <br /> <br />The Pacific Southwest generally is defined as the Colorado River <br />Basin downstream from I~ee Ferry pIllS the southern portion of Cali- <br />fornia, south of the 'l'ehachapi Mountains. It includes three major areas <br />which will be discussed bclow: 'rhc Los Angeles metropolitan area, the <br />agricultural areas of southeastern California, and Arizona. 'I'he region <br />consists of approximately 190,000 square miles. <br />According to the Bureau of Reclamation this ". . . is the most <br />critically water short region of the nation. . ." The Pacific Southwest <br />is generally an area of low precipitation and is an area of net moisture <br />deficiency (precipitation less evaporation and run-off). <br />Areas with an excess of 40 inches a year of rainfall are located almost <br />entirely in western Oregon, Washington and northern California. The <br /> <br />(52 ) <br />