Report follows former LADWP Commission President call for State Water Board to pause diversions
Press release from the Mono Lake Committee
On March 17, the State Water Board will hear why Mono Lake has not risen to the elevation needed to protect Mono Lake in the presentation of a new report from the UCLA Center for Climate Science.
“The UCLA report confirms ongoing LADWP water diversions are the cause of the dangerously low level of Mono Lake. The chronically low lake level is putting nesting and migratory birds, air quality, and the lake’s renowned scenic and cultural resources at risk.” said Geoffrey McQuilkin, Mono Lake Committee Executive Director.
The new report states, “If the existing export criteria continues, meeting D-1631 water level objectives will be unlikely.” The report was commissioned by the board to take the next steps to ensure Mono Lake’s rise. “UCLA-MLM simulations demonstrate that alternative export approaches can increase the likelihood of Mono Lake being above 6,391 ft, as compared to the existing exports outlined in D-1631.”
Tomorrow’s State Water Board meeting comes on the heels of a groundbreaking letter to the board from recently retired Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Commission President Richard Katz. “I encourage the SWRCB to pursue the use of the Tillman facility’s new water to offset diversions from Mono Lake to protect the city’s water rights and ensure Mono Lake’s recovery as intended by the State, the City and the many stakeholders engaged in protecting Mono Lake.”
Mr. Katz, who also previously served as a member of the State Water Board, explained how LADWP is dramatically expanding local water recycling and groundwater recharge, which provides the ability to temporarily pause diversions from Mono Lake to restore the lake’s elevation. In particular, LADWP has—unexpectedly—been able to double the treatment capacity of the Tillman Water Recycling Plant to 40,000 acre-feet annually. Mr. Katz wrote that the LADWP Board of Commissioners agreed that this unplanned “new” water provides an ideal opportunity for the city to make good on its commitment to protect Mono Lake. The board could allow LADWP diversions to resume prior to achieving a healthy lake level in the case of an emergency or drought.
Katz hands the board a blueprint: “The simple, most effective solution is for LADWP to pause its surface water exports from the Mono Basin, confident that the City has a replacement of 16,000 acre-feet of potable water that LADWP will allow to flow to Mono Lake. Pausing Mono diversions is the fastest and most cost-effective way to raise Mono Lake to the 6392-foot protection level.”
Mr. Katz urges the board to take action, “I am writing to encourage a swift, straightforward and impactful process that will decisively and at long last restore the lake level of Mono Lake. This goal has not yet been achieved despite the historic SWRCB decision made more than three decades ago.”
In response to Mr. Katz’s letter, McQuilkin said, “we strongly support Richard Katz’s call to pause diversions until Mono Lake can rise to the ecologically healthy lake level set by the State Water Board. All parties agreed to the 1994 State Water Board order, but LADWP hasn’t held up its part of the bargain. LADWP’s water supply windfall in the new water recycling project at Tillman means LADWP has the replacement water it needs to allow the lake to be restored while maintaining a reliable water supply. LADWP has shown that it will not restore this national treasure voluntarily. After more than three decades, and now with the urgency shown by the science in the UCLA report, it is time for the Board to act to restore Mono Lake.”
Background
- Mono Lake on the 30th Anniversary of the California State Water Board’s Historic Order
- In 2024, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass pledged to limit Mono Lake diversions as a voluntary contribution to a healthier lake level. LADWP, however, did not implement that commitment.
