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B L A C K a V E A T C H The Board of Directors - 3 - requirements of the urban areas, particularly those of the City of Las Vegas and its environs. The estimated withdrawals as reported by the Artesian Well Supervisor for 1952 totaled 45,437 acre-feet, and for 1953 a somewhat greater amount. Average annual replenishment of the basin, as determined from studies made jointly by the State Engineer of Nevada and the U. S. Geological Survey, lies in the range between 30,000 and 35,000 acre-feet. The critical need for a supplemental water supply is, therefore, apparent. The only source of addi­tional water supply for this valley is Lake Mead on the Colorado River. The State of Nevada is party to a contract with the United States which provides for the annual delivery of 300,000 acre-feet of water to the State from storage in Lake Mead. By permit No. 13,424, the State Engineer of Nevada has approved the application of the Las Vegas Valley Water District to appropriate for munici­pal purposes 43,000 acre-feet annually of the public waters of Lake Mead allocated to the State of Nevada by the above contract. The Las Vegas Valley Water District is party to a contract with Basic Management, Inc., under which BMI agrees to convey on behalf of the Water District water from Lake Mead through its existing transmission facilities in such quantities as the Water District may demand up to but not exceeding 5 -0 million gallons per day, or 1 .8 2 5 billion gallons per year and to deliver such water to the Water District at a point or points at or near the properties of Manganese Ores, Inc., or the intersection of the BMI transmission main and the Boulder City highway. This contract provides, further, that when the Water District shall have installed, at its own expense, pumps and other facilities required to increase the capacity of the BMI water facilities by 13*75 million gallons per day, the Water District may demand up to but not exceeding 1 3 * 7 5 million gallons per day, or approximately 5 billion gallons per year. The improvements contemplated under the proposed project for increasing the available supply from the underground basin include the construction of addi­tional wells and other facilities in connection with the existing production facilities to be acquired from the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, and the inauguration of a program for the reduction of wasteful uses of water. The result of these activities will, it is believed, permit withdrawal of water from the underground basin for distribution within the District territory at an aver­age daily rate up to 24 million gallons, (2 7 ,0 0 0 acre-feet per year), and at a maximum daily rate approaching 40.0 million gallons. The proposed project con­templates, also, the immediate installation of the additional pumping capacity and other facilities required to increase the capacity of the M E system by 13*75 million gallons per day, and thereby make available to the Water District from Lake Mead an additional supply of that amount. The ultimate supply made available to the District under the proposed project will total at least 37*0 million gallons per day, or 41,500 acre-feet per year, of which 2 7 ,0 0 0 acre-feet will be produced from the underground basin and 14,500 acre-feet will be imported from Lake Mead. Estimated future water requirements for the Water District, as set out in Table VII of the Montgomery Report, will reach a total of 37*0 million gallons per day in the year 19 9 0 . This estimate is based on the current average daily per eapita