The Lower Owens River Project

Since 1913, Los Angeles' surface water diversions and groundwater pumping in the Owens Valley have destroyed springs and seeps, dried the Owens Lake and the lower Owens River, and caused incalculable harm to migrating and endemic wildlife.

The LA Department of Water and Power is legally obligated to compensate for severe 1970-1990 groundwater pumping damage by implementing the Lower Owens River Project (LORP).  The LORP promises to restore 62 miles of the lower Owens River; to maintain, enhance and create hundreds of acres of new habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife; and to greatly improve the warm water fishery.  The project has enormous potential for enhancing recreation and improving local economies.

A Draft Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (DEIR/EIS) for the project was released for public comment (that means you) on November 1, 2002.  As it stands, the document inadequately describes the Lower Owens River Project.  If the LORP is implemented as described in the DEIR/EIS, LADWP won't fulfill its legal obligations and may even be able to export more groundwater from the Owens Valley.

Your comments are needed to ensure that LADWP both meets its legal obligations and repairs some of the severe environmental damage it has caused.

For a full description of the project visit Inyo County Water Department's Web Site