Mono County won their court case against a plan by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to remove irrigation water from the Long Valley from Crowley Lake to Bishop. On Monday, March 8, the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda, issued an order requiring the DWP to continue to […]
Depending on how you look at things, Inyo County could be a total of $6.3 million in the hole in what the County Administrator called a “structural deficit” when he reported to the Board on Tuesday. CAO Kevin Carunchio said the $6.3 million could be a “hard number”. He added that department revenues could also […]
Some 25 years ago, the Inyo Supervisors decided to let the Department of Water and Power transfer towns water systems to Inyo County under the Long Term Water Agreement. Ultimately, the County hoped Community Service Districts in Lone Pine, Independence and Laws would take them over. The aging of the communities and the enormous cost […]
The Bishop Creek Water Association Board recently voted to send a letter to Southern California Edison asking for modification of Bishop Creek flows to keep water in the upper lakes and water flowing down the creek as long as possible this summer. The letter, signed by Water Association President Steve Stevens, points to the “very […]
Short of getting the Department of Water and Power to admit that groundwater pumping lowers the water table and kills plants, the currently proposed resolution to the Blackrock 94 dispute does reduce groundwater pumping and embarks on a prescribed burn project to restore 665 acres of meadow. At least one citizens’ group and some individuals […]
Both Edison and Department of Water and Power officials have hinted at possible talks and plans to keep water flowing down Bishop Creek this summer in view of the third drought year. Now, Edison says they did make an earlier decision to manage flows to help keep water flowing into West Bishop. We asked Debbie […]
If the Department of Water and Power, Southern California Edison, DWP lessees, and Inyo County can all agree, management of water in the Bishop Creek drainage this summer may take place to keep some water in the lakes, streams, private ditches, and ranch pastures. At this point, it’s all still an “if”. No meetings on […]
It was higher a year ago, a foot and a half higher, but the level of Mono Lake has not dropped far enough for the Department of Water and Power to reduce its water exports from Mono Basin. Executive Director of the Mono Lake Committee, Geoff McQuilkin, said that after April 1st, staff from DWP and […]
When Department of Water and Power official, Michael Webster, visited the Inyo Supervisors this month, he revealed that DWP has several solar and renewable energy projects either breaking ground or about to. So, how much of the renewable energy picture is the controversial Solar Ranch south of Independence? At the April 15th meeting, Webster said […]
The cut-off for determination of the water year for 2014-15 happened on April 1st. Though recent storms lifted the snowpack some, the overall picture looms well below normal. The Department of Water and Power’s measurements show the Mammoth Pass Snowpack at 18.3 inches of water content – just above the driest year. Mammoth Community Water […]
In a 6-page letter to the Department of Water and Power, Inyo’s Water Director says LA has violated the Long Term Water Agreement with its new ranch leases because they give less water and less control over water than the Agreement allows. In the mid-60s, when Los Angeles built the second aqueduct in the Owens […]
At the end of this month, water officials calculate the so-called “water year.” This year promises to add up to one of the lowest snowpacks on record. The Department of Water and Power recently re-measured snow up in the hills, and Mammoth Community Water District’s Manager talked about the consequences in front of the Mammoth […]
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