A feasibility study to safeguard Panama Canal water supplies into the 21st century is under way, the waterway's project manager said. "Studies of potential water projects are expected to take about 18 months," Panama Canal Commission's (PCC) Augustin Arias said, adding that actual development would take between and eight and 10 years. At the end of August, Panama's Legislative Assembly passed a law extending the current canal watershed by more than 60 percent to 213 sq. miles (553 sq. km), in anticipation of increased water demands. The canal, which handled 13,137 vessel transits and generated $569 million in tolls in fiscal 1999, relies on a constant supply of fresh water to operate three flights of gravity-fed locks. The newly designated "Western Watershed" covers an 82 sq. mile (213 sq.