Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

LA Aqueduct centennial: Good news at Mono Lake

The recent coverage of the Los Angeles Aqueduct’s centennial reflects rightly on two major aspects of the waterway: that it has brought life-sustaining water to millions of people, and that it has caused controversy every step of the way.

An aerial view of Rush Creek all the way to Mono Lake. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.

With that in mind, it’s worth focusing for a moment on the Mono Basin, where the news is good. Mono Lake is rising to the State Water Board-ordered management level of 6392 feet above sea level, and we’ve recently made extraordinary strides in restoring Mono Lake’s tributary streams.

Nowhere else along its length is the LA Aqueduct changing to accomodate 21st Century values as much as it is in the Mono Basin. A Lee Vining Creek facility was upgraded in 2005, and one Rush Creek facility was upgraded in 2009. Now, the Stream Restoration Agreement will bring further change to Grant Dam and Rush Creek, ensuring that the aqueduct can both deliver water to Los Angeles and also reliably restore Mono Lake and it’s tributary streams.

So on Tuesday, November 5 be sure to raise a glass to the Mono Basin, where the next 100 years look bright!

One comment

  1. […] On the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, there's good news to note at Mono Lake, says the Mono Lake Committee:  ” … Mono Lake is rising to the State Water Board-ordered management level of 6392 feet above sea level, and we’ve recently made extraordinary strides in restoring Mono Lake’s tributary streams. Nowhere else along its length is the LA Aqueduct changing to accommodate 21st Century values as much as it is in the Mono Basin. … “  Read more from the Mono Lake Committee here:  LA Aqueduct centennial: Good news at Mono Lake […]