The Owens Valley Committee

We watch the water.

Issues

During the last two decades, Inyo and Los Angeles have negotiated historically unprecedented legal agreements that allow for joint management of water and land in the Owens Valley.

photo by Ceal Klingler

These agreements, including the Inyo-Los Angeles Water Agreement and a 1997 Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Los Angeles, Inyo County, the Owens Valley Committee, Carla Scheidlinger, the Sierra Club, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the State Lands Commission, have led to joint projects for saltcedar control, revegetation of LADWP areas damaged by previous management, mitigation of environmental damage in some areas by revegetating others, recovery of drought-damaged areas, rewatering a 60-mile stretch of the lower Owens River (original river flow was diverted to the first Los Angeles aqueduct in 1913)(see also LORP and LORP map), and monitoring of and reporting on the condition of natural resources in or on LADWP-owned lands.

Unfortunately, legal agreements can't solve everything.

For the last several years, LADWP has consistently failed to meet deadlines established in the Agreement and MOU, especially those concerning mitigation and the preparation of a LORP Environmental Impact Report that adequately describes the Lower Owens River Project.  In addition, Los Angeles continues to pump groundwater at a rate that is still harmful to the Owens Valley.  And, finally, Inyo County has not adequately funded its own water department (Inyo County Water Department ), the only governmental agency that stands between the Owens Valley and Los Angeles.

The Owens Valley Committee strongly supports citizen oversight of the implementation of both the Inyo-Los Angeles agreement and the MOU, as well as citizen oversight of long-term land and water management policies. It's also important for local residents to ensure that Inyo County does not undermine its own standing by underfunding our water department, creating policies that are inconsistent with the MOU, or allowing LADWP to renege on its legal obligations.