WSP01065 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

2 \tETR()P(jLIT.~!'l W_~TF_R OlSTR1CT I ,i I ; I i I I , ,. !.1\J'J and certain other governmental subdivisions, such as water dis- tricts, not necessarily contiguous, may join together for the de- velopment of a water supply. The Metropolitan Water District of Sonthern Califomia is composed at present of the cities of Ana- heim, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Compton, Fullerton, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Marino, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, and Torrance, a total of thirteen. Provision is made in the act for the addition of other areas to the Distriet, as may from time to time be found desirable. The District was organized for the purpose of supplying the area within its boundaries with water for domestic, industrial and other beneficial uses, and incidentally to provide a means of creating a water supply for snch surrounding areas as later may find it advantageous to join in the enterprise. Its first objective is the constrllction of the Colorado River aqueduct project, consisting of a main aqueduct 242 miles long, extending from the river near Parker, Arizona, to the Cajalco reservoir near Riverside, Cali- fornia, and a distribution system leading to various consumption centers. The following pages contain an account of the conception and planning of the project and a report of construction progress to June 3D, 1938. Government of the District is effected through a board of di- rectors, composed of at least one director from each member city, the voting power being distributed 011 the basis of one vote for each ten million dollars of assessed valuation, no one city to have more than fifty per cent of the total voting strength of the board. The directors >He appointed by the executive officers of the mem- ber cities with the consent and approval of the governing bodies. The District has authority to acquire, construct, and operate a water works system, to do all the things incidental to such func- tions, and to sell water and levy taxes to provide funds for carrying on its business and for paying interest and principal of any bonded indebtedness. The region within which the cities of the Metropolitan Water District are situated embraces the fertile plain surrounding the City of Los Angeles and extending to Redlands on the east and Newpol't Beach on the south. The area I\S a whole is generally referred to I\S the "so nth eOl\stal basin" or the "metropolitan area." There are 2,200 sqnare miles, or 1,400,000 acres, of first- class habitable lands within this basin. Citrlls fruits and semi- tropical vegetation grow luxuriantly. The climate is delightful