AZ vs. CA:09 California Exhibits, Vol. IX; Nos. 400-457

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-2- The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a public corporation organized under an act of the Legislature of the State of California for the purpose of bringing water from the Colorado River to the metropolitan area of the coastal plane of southern California. The district consists of the following 13 cities: Anaheim, Beverly Hills, Burbank, Compton, Fullerton, Glendale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Marino, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, and Torrance, with an estimated aggregate population in 1932 of 1,700,000 and an assessed valuation of $2,382,184,445. The general route of the proposed aqueduct begins at the Colorado River at a point near Parker and runs to the coast with distribution lines to the cities now constituting the district, crossing public lands in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles Counties. On the 29th day of September, 1931, the district by a popular vote authorized the incurrence of a bonded indebtedness of $220,000,000 for the purpose of constructing the proposed aqueduct and appurtenant works. There is no existing act of Congress adequate to permit the Secretary of the Interior to grant title to the lands necessary for the right of way and other related activities necessary to the construction and operation of the aqueduct. Legal questions as to the right of the Metropolitan Water District to expend public moneys for the permanent improvement of lands which it does not own, the magnitude of the proposed investment, the importance of satisfying the bond buyers in the sale of the $220,000,000 worth of bonds, make the present bill seem not only desirable but actually necessary. The bill contains proper safeguards requiring approval of the Secretary of the Interior for various steps and