In 1940, the family of Stan Matlick of Bishop won a court decision called the Hillside Decree that limits groundwater pumping in the Bishop area to the amount used on Los Angeles-owned lands in what’s called the Bishop Cone. No groundwater is to be exported. This year, Mr. Matlick thinks the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has pumped too much water.
Matlick checks the pumps on Bishop Cone and told the Inyo Water Department, Water Commission and Sierra Wave Media that three wells were pumping steadily in the Bishop area in December and January. Matlick said he believes there weren’t enough uses on the Bishop Cone for all that water. He believes some of it went down the aqueduct where it’s not supposed to go. Matlick said he was told DWP needed to pump during winter months to feed Farmer’s Ponds and Buckley Ponds. He said the ditch to Farmers’ Pond was dry, and he didn’t think more water was going to Buckley Ponds. Matlick said in the past little pumping has gone on during the winter.
Water Director Bob Harrington said that his Department checked with DWP officials who indicated they needed the pumped water for “stock water and for Buckley Pond.” In January, Harrington said it appeared there were not enough uses going on to justify the amount DWP was pumping. Harrington said Inyo requested that they turn off some pumps. He said DWP told his Department they would shut off one or more.
DWP Public Information Officer Chris Plakos said as of December 31st, LADWP had “delivered significantly more water to LADWP lands on the Bishop Cone than had been pumped plus the amount flowing from uncapped wells.” He said that since pumping on the Cone was “well within the provisions of the Water Agreement and Hillside Decree, two of the three wells on the Cone that have been operating continue to run.” Plakos said that in a “cooperative response to comments received, the third well was turned off.”
DWP conducts an annual audit of Bishop Cone water use and pumping to comply with the long-held court decree.
For the good of All,
I think all the pumps should be shut down,
Not just those on the cone. =
Regarding the county sups, and other county admins not standing up to DWP or protecting what little control we have over our water supply. I wonder how many of them have ties with DWP. We all know to well how DWP operates.
Information regarding the Bishop Cone Audit 2010-2011 is available at http://www.inyowater.org/Annual_Reports/documents/bca-2010-11final.pdf Unfortunately I could not find the 2011-2012 report. I also could not find a copy of the 1940 Hillside Decree . In the Audit document the amount of Extraction that is allowed (Both pumping and free flow) is to… Read more »
I am sick of these vulture capitalist’s with their narrow minded interest when it comes to Owens valley water! With the drought’s on the rise and no real change or ideas to make people change the way they use this Vital resource, The valley will keep getting the short end… Read more »
I am not sure that the March 1st meeting was even a legal meeting. According to the LA/Inyo Co MOU page 5 it provides that the Technical Group SHALL be comprised of FIVE representatives selected by the County and FIVE representatives selecter by DWP. There was only ONE representative from… Read more »
At the March 1st L.A./Inyo Technical meeting it was agreed to turn on Laws well # 377 to supply stockwater in the amount of 20 acre feet of water. We were told that the solar pump/well/water supply was not furnishing enough stock water. DWP did not know what was wrong… Read more »
Thank you for being so alert, Stan!