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., ,.., ('- I J{ '.. -'-"v..) .1 METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT 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 alld its expansion to one of the world's leading ports; the creation of the motion picture industry; the discovery and development of vast petroleum and natural gas resources, and construction of tank farms and refineries; the build- ing of hydroelectric and steam power plants, and a network of transmission lines covering the entire area; the unparalleled and withal substantial expansion of aviation and airplane plants; the introduction of a multitude of industries, large and small; the con- tinoed improvement of valuable agricultural lands ; 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 ltfono 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 population, This extraordinary progress has been made in the face of a defi- nitely limited 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. " ~ > . ~ " , ~ ., J Fig. ], Annual minfall at Los Anodes