Owens Valley and Water Resources

I recently went on a class trip to Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierras to learn about water resources and the history of Los Angeles’ water supply. We started the trip by visiting Owens Lake, or what should have been Owens Lake. Since the operation of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1914 the flow of water into Owens Lake has been diverted to Los Angeles, and the lake has basically diapered. The City of LA had the power to divert the water of Owens Valley by buying most of the land in the valley and acquiring the water right associated with the land. It wasn’t until the 1980’s and 90’s that LA had to reintuduce some of the water back to Owens Lake for Dust control measures.

Later in the trip we visited Mono Lake and say the amazing Tufa. Mono Lake is a saline lake and home to thousands of migratory birds. The lake is also at historic lows similar to Owens Lake due to LA’s water diversions and ground water pumping. Yet due to the fact Mono Lake is bird habitat they have more protections and LA is required to divert less water until the level of the lake rises to a specified height.