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. "'..." ') 1 V Ij \; 4 METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRIr.T Need for additional water The District area is rich in natural resources and during the four decades of this century has experienced a phenomenal growth, re- tarded temporarily by the trying years following 1929, but now again advancing in full stride. This period saw the development of the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor and its expansion to one of the world's leading ports; the creation of the motion picture industry; the discovery and development of vast petroleum aud natural gas resources, and coustruction of tank farms aud refineries; the build- ing of hydroelectric and steam power piants, and a network of transmission lines covering the entire area; the unparalleled and withal substantiai expansion of aviation and airplane plants; the introduction of a multitude of industries, large and small; the con- tinued improvement of valuable agricultural iauds; the rapid multi- plication of subsistence farms and country estates; the most minute and efficient development of local water' supplies; the importa- tion of water from Owens River by the City of Los Angeles, and the construction of the Mono Craters tunnel and other works tap- ping the unused water supplies of Mono Basin and adding them to the Owens River; all accompanied by rapid increases in property values, wealth, and populatiou. This extraordinary progress has been made in the face of a defi- nitely iimited water supply. Southern California is naturally semi- arid. The rainfall is erratic and averages only about 15 inches per year, varying, however, during the last 64 years, at the Los Angeles station, from a minimum of 5.59 inches to a maximum of 38.18 inches as illustrated in figure 1. " . , ., " [II IIII1 I I '"I,ll, Fig. 1. Annual rainfall at Los Angeles