Well 380 pumping groundwater into the LA Aqueduct, October 19, 2003
The Los Angeles-Inyo County Water Agreement
"No groundwater has been exported from the valley in about the last 15 years" 1
"Yes, it is true some water pumped from the Owens Valley makes its way into the Los Angeles Aqueduct..."2
"[Gerald] Gewe told the LADWP board he hopes Los Angeles can pump more Owens Valley groundwater in the years ahead."3
1DWP spokesman Chris Plakos as quoted in the Inyo Register, Dec. 4, 2003
2DWP spokesman Gene Coufal as quoted in the Inyo Register, Dec. 23, 2003
3DWP Assistant General Manager Gerald Gewe as quoted in the LA Weekly, April 30-May 6, 2004
Introduction
- What's all the fuss about? An Introduction to the Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement
Background
Legal and political
- The texts of the Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA) and MOU are available at the website of the Inyo County Water Department .
- The text of the EIR to the LTWA contains much important material clarifying LADWP's obligations under the LTWA and is now available electronically — Go to www.inyowater.org/documents/governing-documents/water-agreement/ to view it online.
- A brief history of the development of the Water Agreement and MOU
- Definitions of some of the terms, acronyms, and concepts in the LTWA
- Link to the Owens Valley Committee website, which has much information about the LTWA and MOU. The OVC was a party to the MOU (signed in 1997) which was intended to remedy deficiencies in the EIR to the LTWA.
Scientific
- A brief description of groundwater dependent vegetation on the floor of Owens Valley
- Monitoring Owens Valley vegetation and groundwater
- A long term record of groundwater pumping in Owens Valley
- A conceptual diagram of the Owens Valley Aquifer System
- Common Misconceptions about pumping and vegetation
Case Studies
- The well test that wouldn't die: testing of wells 380 and 381, 1996 - 2004
- The affair of the enlarged wells
- DWP becomes the Technical Group: jeopardizing Reinhackle Springs
The Problems
In ecological terms
- Excessive Groundwater Pumping
- Inadequacy of the ON/OFF management protocol
- Mitigation projects which cause new, unmitigated impacts
In political terms
- The imbalance of financial and political power between Los Angeles and Inyo County: might makes right
- Excluding the public from the decision-making process: Inyo County as its own worst enemy
In Legal terms
- Evading "avoiding": LADWP's refusal to acknowledge its obligation to "avoid" significant pumping impacts
- The uncertain fate of the Drought Recovery Policy
- Bad faith
What is Being Lost:
Beauty, biodiversity, meadows, and sinks
- Threatened area #1: Parcels Blackrock 94, 99 and 69
- Threatened area #2: Parcel Blackrock 9
- Threatened area #3: Parcels Tinnemaha 50 & 68
- Threatened area #4: Parcels Laws 85 & 107
- Threatened area #5: Parcel Blackrock 16
The Solution: a dream!
- Letters to write, phone calls to make!
- An educated and engaged public
- A reformed LADWP
