LADWP Mitigation Projects
LADWP Mitigation Projects
Groundwater pumping by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has devastated many ecosystems in Payahuunadü, also known as the Owens Valley. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires mitigation of these sweeping environmental impacts. ESWA is working to monitor LADWP’s mitigation work throughout Payahuunadü. We advocate for a long-term, ecosystems-centered approach, proper documentation, and transparent public communication on the status of these projects.
Background
In 1971, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) dramatically increased its groundwater pumping in Payahuunadü, also known as the Owens Valley. Their goal was to fill the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct with water, which they had completed building the year before. This spike in groundwater pumping caused at least 655 acres of groundwater-dependent vegetation to die off. All but one of the major springs in the valley dried up. Many natural alkali meadows have been lost: first, because settlers prevented Indigenous water spreading (see History section) and second, because the water table dropped from excessive groundwater pumping.
Five months after the completion of the Second L.A. Aqueduct, in 1970, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was enacted. In December of 1972, Inyo County commenced CEQA litigation against LADWP. Inyo County sought a halt to LADWP’s increased groundwater pumping. They also wanted LADWP to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) analyzing how the Second L.A. Aqueduct affected the environment. The Third District Appellate Court found that the Second L.A. Aqueduct was not subject to CEQA, because it was completed before the act was signed into law. However, the Court did find that the water supply to the Second Aqueduct was subject to CEQA. It issued a writ commanding LADWP to prepare an EIR on this water supply, including groundwater pumping, reduced irrigation, and increased diversions from the Mono Basin. Almost 20 years of disagreement on groundwater management and related water issues followed. Finally, in October of 1991, Inyo County and LADWP approved the “Inyo/Los Angeles Long Term Water Agreement” (LTWA). The two parties certified the 1991 EIR, which addresses the environmental impacts of LADWP’s excessive groundwater pumping and the environmental impacts of the LTWA provisions. By 2008, a final list of 64 mitigation projects emerged following a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), several court orders, and a CEQA project.
Signing of the LTWA in 1991. Left to right: Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Inyo County Supervisor Keith Bright, and Inyo County Water Department Director Greg James. Photo Credit: Inyo County Water Department.
Different types of mitigation projects were created as part of this 2008 list. Many were quickly completed and have been a great benefit to Payahuunadü communities. Some of these projects included providing water and/or funding for Diaz Lake, a park in each town, two woodlots, the grounds at the Eastern California Museum, the lawn at the Laws Museum, the Millpond Recreation Area, two fish hatcheries, and irrigation for ranchers.
Others, especially those which seek to restore decimated vegetation and habitats in Payahuunadü, are incomplete. These revegetation mitigation projects take a variety of forms. Some create ponds, and others pipe water to the start of spring channels to simulate the natural springs that dried up. Some projects grow shrubs on land that turned to dust when LADWP revoked irrigation water or dropped the water table below the root zone. A few mitigation projects aim to restore 80 acres of lost alkali meadows.
The catch is that for almost all the mitigation projects, the water used to "restore" these areas comes from groundwater. This “fix” of using pumped water for mitigating impacts of past pumping is part of the problem.
Field trip to Five Bridges, a contested mitigation project north of Bishop, in November 2024. Photo Credit: Lauren Kelly.
Present Day
The revegetation projects are the majority of the projects that have not been completed: although only an eighth or less of the acreage damaged is to be revegetated, these projects have been the most difficult to complete because LADWP “revegetates” with as little water as possible and without letting the water table rise to the root zone, as they continue to pump groundwater for both supply to the L.A. Aqueduct as well as the mitigation projects themselves. The plants being used to revegetate struggle to take root and then re-seed the area without a high enough water table to be a self-sufficient ecosystem. This results in more LADWP money and labor spent attempting to plant again and again, without success to show for it. We are still waiting for the 80 acres of meadows to be restored and bare ground to be covered in native plants, rather than invasives which thrive in disturbed areas.
ESWA is working to assess the current state of these revegetation projects and advocate for best practices to be employed to achieve their completion. ESWA members are attending relevant LADWP/Inyo County meetings to advocate for the honoring of the revegetation agreements and are pursuing action to ensure these projects are completed in a timely manner.
