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<br />COACHELLA VALLEY COUNTY
<br />WATER DISTRICT
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<br />Coachella Valley County Water District is situated west and north of the Salton Sea in
<br />California, It includes 136,000 acres, of which 54,109 are now under cultivation. Within
<br />this District are the cities of Indio, Coachella, Mecca, and Thetmal, and it has a population of
<br />22,540,
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<br />Water to irrigate the lands of the Coachella Valley originally was obtained by the
<br />development of ground water in that area. This water supply was insufficient to meet the
<br />valley's present requirements and to make possible feasible extension of ferrile territory.
<br />To meet the urgent water needs of the Coachella Valley, there was completed in 1947 what
<br />is known as the Coachella branch of the All American CanaL A distribution system, now
<br />capable of serving 78,000 acres, will ultimately serve 100,000 acres.
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<br />The principal agricultural products of the Coachella Valley are dates, grapefruit,
<br />grapes, vegetables, alfalfa and cotton, which in 1954 had a value of $24,301,913.
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<br />PALO VERDE IRRIGATION DISTRICT
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<br />The Palo Verde Irrigation District is situated in and around the city of Blythe, California.
<br />It includes 121,000 acres, of which 67,500 are under cultivation, and it has a population
<br />of approximately 11,000.
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<br />This District obtains its irrigation water from the Colorado River and has one of the
<br />oldest water diversion rights on the entire river system. Use of Colorado River water for
<br />the irrigation of lands in the Blythe area dates back to 1877.
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<br />Principal agricultural products of the Palo Verde District are alfalfa, cotton, lettuce,
<br />cantaloupes, and watermelons, which in 1954 had a value of $16,238,000, and cattle and
<br />sheep which in 1954 had an estimated value of $8,000,000.
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<br />PARKER DAM
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<br />Parker Dam on the Colorado River was constructed to reregulate the flow of the river below
<br />Hoover Dam and to provide a storage reservoir from which water is taken into the Colo-
<br />rado River Aqueduct. The cost of Parker Dam and power plant was approximately $13,-
<br />000,000. Of this amount, citizens of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern Califor-
<br />nia paid $12,400,000 and the Government, through the Public Works Administration,
<br />$600,000.
<br />Parker Dam, situated 155 miles downstream from Hoover Dam, has created a res-
<br />ervoir extending 50 miles upstream with a capacity of 717,000 acre-feet. It frequently is
<br />referred to as "the deepest dam in the world" for the reason that it extends 242 feet below
<br />stream level to bedrock, while its height above stream level is about 70 feet. Its power
<br />plant has an installed capacity to produce 100,000 kilowatts of energy.
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