Come join us at the Inyo County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 28th at 2pm. We need your voice!
What's happening?
Last week, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) released its Draft Annual Operations Plan for the next year. This document explains LADWP's plans for groundwater pumping over the next twelve months.
Check out LADWP's Draft Annual Operations Plan
Inyo County is our advocate in this process. The Inyo County Water Department will submit comments on the Draft Operations Plan to LADWP this Wednesday, April 30. The Inyo County Board of Supervisors has the final say about these comments to LADWP.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors is meeting on Tuesday, April 28, at2pm to discuss these comments. It is critical that Inyo County residents come to this meeting. Inyo County Supervisors need to hear from their constituents in order to push for a meaningful reduction in groundwater pumping.
Let's tell Inyo County Supervisors what we'd like to see: reduced groundwater pumping!
What can I do? Provide comments!
Give a verbal comment.Attend the meeting and provide a public comment urging Inyo County Supervisors to take a strong stance in their comments on LADWP's Draft Operations Plan. By attending and commenting, we’ll show our Supervisors that their constituents care about reducing water extraction from our valley. This will be a hybrid (in-person + online) meeting.
Attending In-Person: 224 North Edwards Street, Independence, CA
Attending Online: Join Board of Supervisors meeting ONLINE here
Submit a written comment. If you can’t make it in person, submit a written comment. Every comment counts!
Email your comment to boardclerk@inyocounty.us.
This comment is limited to 250 words.
How to approach your comment?
The big question to think about: What would you like Inyo County to tell the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) about its groundwater pumping?
Tips for public comment:
Introduce yourself. If you live in Inyo County, your supervisor needs to know they are hearing from their own constituents.
Consider what big themes or topics inspire you about water.
Why do you care about how much water the LADWP pumps?
Are you especially motivated by a particular place in the valley?
Are you compelled by the drained lake, failed mitigation projects, vegetation getting drier, or other impacts of LADWP’s water extraction?
Connect your inspiration to a specific ask that you would like Inyo County to communicate to LADWP. Specific public comments help create more concrete change!
Overall Vision
After the large runoff year in 2023-2024, LADWP has pumped under its minimum estimates for the past two years. This has allowed groundwater levels to rise in many places around the valley. We ask LADWP to keep groundwater levels high so that vegetation can start to recover from years of water deprivation. Our goal is to maintain or increase groundwater levels for the next several years, while encouraging Inyo County and LADWP to develop a more accurate method of monitoring impacts on vegetation. Updated monitoring would allow us to assess whether vegetation is indeed recovering, and in what areas we still need to do more.
Our specific asks for the Supervisors:
Adopt the reduced pumping recommendations from the Inyo County Water Commission.
Push LADWP to remove plans for expanding its existing water infrastructure: do not install new wells, conduct pump tests, or begin pumping new wells.
More details?
The Inyo County Water Commission recommended a substantial reduction in LADWP’s groundwater pumping for this year! But the Inyo County Supervisors must adopt this lower pumping number in order for LADWP to receive it as the County’s official stance.
LADWP proposed pumping between 54,310 - 81,360 acre-feet of water during this upcoming runoff year. Put another way, this is 17,696,991,086 - 26,511,272,229 gallons of water.
The Inyo County Water Commission recommended a reduction of pumping to around 46,000 acre-feet of water. This number reflects much lower pumping numbers in already-damaged wellfields.
This pumping limit would help groundwater levels stay as high as possible this year, giving relief to the valley’s groundwater-dependent vegetation. This will help us to better assess vegetation recovery moving forward.
LADWP pumped below its minimum estimate for the last two years. It can do it again!
We do not want LADWP increasing its infrastructure for pumping groundwater beyond what already exists. We ask that it halts all plans to expand its capacity for water extraction:
Do not pump Well 416.
This production well in the Lone Pine Wellfield was drilled in 2002. It has only been pumped for testing purposes, and results showed the potential for this well to adversely affect private wells and groundwater levels throughout the Lone Pine area. LADWP may begin pumping this well, in addition to the planned pumping from Lone Pine Wellfield. Please urge LADWP to remove operational planning for Well 416 and any plans to pump it.
Do not conduct the pump test on Well 386.
Well 386 (and its neighbor Well 385) is supposed to be permanently shut down. LADWP’s pumping from these wells devastated over 300 acres of Owens River riparian habitat and meadow between Bishop and Fish Slough, west of Five Bridges Road. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires LADWP to mitigate the damage they caused in this area. However, LADWP has failed to complete this mitigation project, and the ecosystem is suffering.
LADWP needs to halt all plans for pump tests or future pumping for Well 386. If LADWP cannot mitigate for damage it causes, it should not be allowed to pump.
Do Not Install Well B2 or Well B5 in Bishop.
LADWP is considering installing two new wells in the Bishop Wellfield to provide "operational flexibility." Inyo County has stated concerns that these new wells could impact non-LADWP wells nearby. There is no need for new wells. We ask that LADWP halt planning for these new wells.
Want to learn more?
Check out the Eastern Sierra Water Alliance (ESWA) website to learn more about water justice work in the valley!