WSP01065 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

6 J l' i :~I E T R 0 P f) Ll TAN W ATE R 0 1ST R leT gas are available from San Joaquin Valley fields in the vicinity of Bakersfield and electrical power at low rates is abundant through- out the area. The amount of eledrical energy used in Southern California for the year 1937 totaled approximately 5,350,370,000 kilowatt hours, of which 1,068,570,000 kilowatt hOllrs was pro- duced at the Boulder power plant. The present 330,OOO-kw in- stallation at Boulder can be increased as required to a capacity of 1,152,000 kw with an annual output of firm energy of 4,330,000,000 kw-hr, a large part of which will Row to SOllthern California. The basin is a notable commercial center. In volume of water- borne commerce, as evidenced by total inbound and outbound cargo tonnage, the Los Angeles-Long Beach port stands third in the United States and is one of the world's foremost oil-exporting ports. The combination of harbor facilities, proximity to the Panama Canal, and adequate railway connections, make this the shipping center for the Southwest. As is bronght out in detail in the following pages, this phenome- nal growth of population and industry in a naturall.v semi desert area has overtaxed the water resources appnrtenant to the region to such an extent that for the coastal plain outside of Los Angeles the present deficiency of its permanent safe watcr supply is now computed at from 215 to 300 cubic feet per second, or from one- fourth to one-third of the dependable yield of the region's water resources. The need for a supplemental imported water sup- ply to maintain the continued growth and prosperity of the region was foreseen 15 years ago. The story of the problems solved and the obstacles overcome in the decade-long campaign which culminated in the construction of the Boulder Canyon pro- ject by the Federal Government and the authorization by the voters of the District of a $220,000,000 bond issue to build the Colorado River aqueduct is an epic of enterprise of no less interest and importance to an understanding of the project as a whole than is the description of the construction of the works themselves. It has therefore appeared appropriate that this, the first annual re- port of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, should contain more than a passing reference to the history of the early investigations, negotiations, and legislative enactments ac- companying the inception and development of the constructive pro- ject now approaching completion.