A water story

Water in the desert? Indeed, yes - especially when there's a giant mountain range capturing winter storms and sustaining stream flows year-round from melting snow-pack. That's the situation here in the Owens Valley and the Mono Basin. Some 'clever' engineers decided in the early the 1900s that this was the perfect resource for the thirsty, growing city of Los Angeles, which now houses over 18 million people yet receives only ~300mm of rain per year.

Water is extracted from the tributaries feeding Mono Lake; this lowered the lakes water level. This caused environmental changes that almost led to the collapse of an important ecosystem that provides refuge to millions of migrating waterbirds. Two key species in the lake are fundamental; a tiny endemic shrimp and an 'alkaline fly', both of which are adapted to the super salty and super alkaline water, and which make up the food-source for all the birds. As the lake level declined, the water chemistry changed, reducing productivity of the shrimp and the fly, thereby affecting the birds.

In 1994 this was 'rectified' when the court ruled that the LA Department of Water and Power (DWP) must reduce extraction and allow the Lake level to rise somewhat, but not to the original level, within 20 years. This was the balance between protecting the environment and using water resources for the needs of people. Progress and protection, as is mandated in laws around the world, including the NT Environment Protection Act that I help administer at home.

It's been 30 years and the lake still hasn't reached that target level 😞. Luckily, we saw the shrimp and the flies and plenty of birds. Is that enough?

Just to the south, in Bishop, creeks are diverted for flood control around town, and diverted to the massive aqueduct flowing to LA. Some of the irrigation channels were initially created by the native Paiute people to irrigate edible native plants. The Paiute suffered many injustices as they were deprived of their property and water rights over time, largely by the DWP. They have a reservation at Bishop, and they number about a quarter of the population. We visited the cultural centre, which was great (no pics allowed). The LA DWP is a major force around Bishop and the whole Owens Valley; it owns the majority of land and water rights, thereby limiting development. More info at: https://www.oviwc.org/water-crusade/

The Owens Valley and Mono Basin provide only a small portion of LA's water; other sources include the poor Colorado River and groundwater. Do the residents have any idea of the biophysical, social, and cultural environmental impacts?Read more