| 1908-1913 | DWP constructs Los Angeles Aqueduct |
| A project first proposed in 1905 by Fred Eaton. For
under $23 million, L.A. constructs the aqueduct to the Owens Valley.
Finished in 1913, DWP begins diversions from the Owens River into
the newly completed Los Angeles Aqueduct. Owens Lake dries up by
1926.
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| 1912 | L.A. begins acquiring land and water rights in the Mono Basin |
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Planning for the possibility of an extension of the aqueduct to the Mono Basin, L.A. begins acquiring land and water rights.
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| 1920 | Mono Basin public land withdrawn |
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Reclamation Service head Arthur Davis withdraws Mono Basin public land from private settlement or claims.
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| 1923 | Los Angeles applies for Mono Basin water rights |
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Los Angeles applies to the State Water Commission to appropriate the entire flow of the Mono Basin streams for domestic use and power generation.
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| 1930 | Los Angeles passes bond for Mono Basin extension |
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L.A. voters pass a second $38.8 million bond by a margin of 8 to 1 after an initial one failed. This bond is to fund the Mono Basin extension of the L.A. Aqueduct.
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| 1930-1935 | DWP condemns littoral rights of Mono Basin property owners |
| In 1930 DWP begins condemnation procedures against 78
defendants for
land, littoral, and riparian rights in the Mono Basin.
Some landowners go to court to contest the awards given in condemnation proceedings. This becomes known as the Aitken Case. Under the court's ruling in Aitken, the award for various littoral and riparian rights is increased. Total award for littoral and riparian rights is $287,997 ($3.6 million in today's dollars). The court says that "there is evidence that all of these properties will be thereby damaged to an extent of three-fourths to nine-tenths of their values. When the lake is destroyed, the surrounding country will be converted into a desert and their properties will become valueless."
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| 1941 | Mono Basin diversions begin |
| With the construction of the Mono Basin extension
complete (begun during the Aitken Case), and the diversion permits
granted in June 1940 by the Division of Water Resources (the agency
could not see a way to prevent it), Grant Lake Reservoir starts
filling in December 1940, and the first water leaves the Mono Basin
in April of 1941.
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| 1947-1982 | Mono Lake shrinks |
| Between 1941 and 1947, a wet period keeps Mono
Lake from dropping, despite diversions. Then it begins to drop, and
at a much greater rate after 1970 when the second barrel of the
aqueduct is completed. Between 1947 and 1982, Mono Lake drops 45
vertical feet, loses half its volume, doubles in salinity, and
exposes 18,000 acres of lakebed (relicted land). These relicted
lands belong to the public. Tufa towers are exposed and become a
scenic attraction.
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| 1974 | SWRCB grants DWP water rights licenses |
| The California State Water Resources Control Board
converts DWP's water rights permits to water rights licenses.
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| January 1, 1982 | Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve created |
At the Mono Lake Committee's urging, the State
Legislature passes a law creating the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve
under lease from the State Lands Commission. The lease expires June
30, 2002.
Click here to read the text of the act creating the MLTSRClick here to see a map of the MLTSR
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| 1983 | Public Trust Decision by the California Supreme Court |
| The State Supreme Court rules that the state has a
duty to protect public resources like Mono Lake, and hold them in
trust for the public. Click
here to read the decision.
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| 1984 | Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area created |
| Passed by Congress and signed by President Reagan, a
federal law creates the Mono Basin Scenic Area from 118,000 acres of
BLM land and management responsibility is given to the U.S. Forest
Service.
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| 1985 | Federal vs. State lawsuit over relicted land |
| Court finds that federal land extends downslope to the
lakeshore. State land is now only below non-federal (private) lands.
In 1988, the California Supreme Court rules that the Forest Service
has rights as a riparian owner sufficient to serve the purposes for
which the federal land had been set aside.
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| 1994 | SWRCB issues Decision 1631 |
| The California State Water Resources Control Board
amends L.A.'s water rights licenses and orders Mono Lake to rise to
a 6392 foot management level over the next 20 years. Computer
models predict the lake will rise as high as 6400 feet and will
maintain an average level of 6392.6 feet. Some tufa will be
inundated and toppled, but South Tufa will remain the main point of
visitation to the lakeshore.
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