Imperial Valley press., 1928-02-15
PART 8
The Colorado River Aqueduct

( With all their bold plans for an
Empire on the shores of the Pacific,
! Il is safe to say that none of that
dauntlcss band of Spanish Conquis
/ res who first explored this re-
VI ever dreamed that their Alta
California would one day support
| n population so great that it must
go to the distant Colorado River for
! domestic water to meet its increas-
ing needs.
The reign of the Spanish dons has
long since passed. In their stead
has come the energetic Yankee, the
world s most tircless builder of
cities and homes and commerce. The
Yankee has transformed the play
ground of Spanish gentlemen into
one of the richest agricultural spots
on the face of the earth and, in so
doing, has brought into being cen
ters Of population whose rapid
growth, during these past few years,
has amazed the world.
So rapid, in fact, has been the
| development of these great centcrs
of population that we now find many
Ge Southern California s cities out
growing their local water supplies.
If they are to continue their expan-
sion in the future they must secure,
at once, additional water to support
! the endless stream of homeseekers
moving westward.
Los Angeles 20 years ago faced the
same problem that today is confront
ing virtually every other large COM
munity in Southern California. 1t
woke up one morning and discover
ed that it could no longer depend
! upon the Los Angeles River to pro-
vide all the water its growing fam
lily required. Far sighted and cour-
! ageous residents of Los Angeles, III
i that day, met this situation by fin
! ancing the construction of the Owens
/ River Aqueduct, which brought to
! this city the pure snow water from
the High SiCrras, $50 miles distant.
Through the construction of the
aqueduct there was provided an OPP
Nelop large quantities of cheaT
hydroelcctric power, Apparently
someone outside the city learned
about these things-and told some
one else. At any rate, the informal,
ion got spread about that Los Ang-
eles possessed ample supplies of wat
c. and hydro-electric power. The re-
suit was, that people from every
quarter of the world headed for
this city to take advantage of these
possessions. They are still coming
and already so many have arrived
that Los Angeles has passed the
first million mark in her population
and is heading for the second mill
ion at the rate of about l00,0 600 new
residents a year.
Los Angeles has no disposition to
check its own growth; but its people
have come to realize that this growth
cannot continue indefinitely unless
provision is made to increase great
ly this city's available water supply.
But where is this water to be see
ured?
Water Problem Solved
Three wears ago William Mulhol
land, builder of the Owens River
Aqueduct, answered this question
by pointing to the Colorado River
AS chief engineer Of the Los Angeles
Municipal Water Bureau, he SET
about surveying the wild and rug
ged desert country stretching be
tween the Sierra Madre mountains
and the Colorado. A year later, witt
preliminary survey data in hand, h
announced that the construction o
an aqueduct to bring water to the
cities of Southern California from
the Colorado, was both feasible anC
practicable. Since that time WORK
on this project has gone FORWARD
rapidly and continuously. Two bon'
issues already have been voted by
the citizens of Los Angeles to fin
ance survey and preliminary con