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HISTORIC RAIN, YET DROUGHT REMAINS <br /> <br /> <br />ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 I 2023 Page 10 of 57 <br />Metropolitan Water District is in the water movement business and is not historically <br />tasked with securing new sources of water. As the leading water agency in Southern <br />California, MET has not taken on this responsibility. Their supply of water is dependent <br />on precipitation. When the water allocation was reduced from the State Water Project, <br />MET had to switch many of its customers to the Colorado River. However, numerous <br />articles have documented that the lakes on the Colorado River (Mead and Powell) are <br />at the lowest levels since they were built, and their future viability is at question due to a <br />decade’s long drought in the west. <br /> <br />The State Water Project 4 includes 700 miles of delivery canals (California Aqueduct) <br />that serves 27 million people and irrigates 750,000 acres of farmland, which supplies <br />fifty percent of the United States’ produce. The project originated in 1960 and although it <br />is well maintained, it has not been upgraded in years. The water for the State Water <br />Project comes primarily from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. When forming its <br />water strategies, Orange County needs to recognize that the State Water Project’s <br />reliability is in doubt due to its 53-year history of not being adequately maintained. <br />The Colorado River has been in the news due to the drought reducing its flow over the <br />past twenty years. The agreements regarding the allocation of Colorado River water are <br />set to expire in 2026 and are currently being renegotiated. Water levels at Lake Mead <br />and Lake Powell have dropped significantly, and experts say it would take at least 10 <br />years of above average precipitation to restore them. Orange County should simply not <br />rely upon the Colorado River as a dependable supply, now or in the future. <br />Following numerous interviews and a thorough review of project documentation, the <br />Grand Jury reached several conclusions regarding MET programs to replace dwindling