I am writing to urge the State Water Board to proceed with its planned Mono Lake hearing as soon as possible and to ask the Board to take swift action to ensure the mandated 6,392-foot elevation lake level is quickly achieved.
In 1994, the State Water Board required Mono Lake be managed at a healthy level to protect the ecosystem, migratory and nesting birds, air quality, scenic and recreational values, the public trust, and more. The Board allowed 20 years for the lake to rise and recover from the vast impacts of decades of excessive Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) water diversions. It also wisely required that if recovery was not achieved on schedule, it would hold a hearing to determine how to revise water diversion criteria to ensure Mono Lake’s recovery.
Thirty-one years have passed since the Board’s 1994 ruling, and Mono Lake is only halfway to the protection level. As a result, Mono Lake’s ecosystem is still in jeopardy. This urgent situation has been highlighted by last year’s alarming California Gull nesting failure due to an impaired brine shrimp population.
LADWP continues to maximize water diversions without regard for the impacts on Mono Lake or its public trust obligation. At the same time, Los Angeles residents are leaders in water conservation, and the city deserves great credit for expanding its local water supplies by far more than Mono Lake needs through major stormwater capture and water recycling projects.
It’s time to get Mono Lake rising! I urge you to take the steps needed to move forward rapidly with your planned hearing and to implement revisions to LADWP’s water diversion criteria. Please take action to ensure Mono Lake receives the water it needs to quickly rise to the mandated 6,392-foot healthy lake level.
Sincerely,
,
