Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations & Acronyms

Acre-foot (AF) - A measurement of water quantity. An area of one acre covered in one foot of water. Equals 325851 gallons.

California State Water Resources Control Board - Regulatory body that enforces water quality standards and allocates water for a balance of different beneficial uses. They work with nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards who oversee different parts of California (see Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board below).

Dewatering - Removing water. Often refers to taking water from rural areas to supply urban centers.

Drought - A period of dry weather that lasts an unusually long time, creating water shortages.

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD) - Government agency that enforces air quality regulations in Inyo County, Mono County, and Alpine County. They oversee the dust mitigation efforts on Patsiata.

Groundwater pumping - Drawing water from aquifers to the surface using wells.

Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) - A plan to monitor and manage Owens Valley groundwater in accordance with SGMA. Passed by the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority in 2021.

Inyo Water - Inyo County Water Department

LADWP - Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board - Regulatory body that oversees the ‘Lahontan region’ of California: from the Oregon border to the northern Mojave Desert and from the Sierra Nevada crest to the eastern border of California. This board works with the California State Water Resources Control Board (see above). It makes basin plans and sets water quality objectives for Payahuunadü.

Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA) - Shorthand for the 1991 Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement between Inyo County and Los Angeles. This agreement required LADWP to mitigate past damage from groundwater pumping and to manage future groundwater pumping to not cause significant damage.

LORP - Lower Owens River Project. River restoration project, rewatering the Lower Owens River south of the Los Angeles Aqueduct diversion. Mandated in 1991 Long Term Water Agreement.

MOU - Memorandum of Understanding. In our work, it refers to 1997 resolution to lawsuits by Inyo County, Sierra Club, and the Owens Valley Committee over deficits in 1991 Long Term Water Agreement. It spells out specific mitigation projects that LADWP must complete. 

Paya - Paiute word for water

Payahuunadü - Paiute name for Owens Valley

Patsiata - Paiute name for Owens Lake

Runoff year - April 1 (when snow starts melting and turning into runoff) to March 30 of the following year, according to the Inyo County Water Department.

Snow Drought - A period of abnormally low snowpack for the time of year.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) - A 2014 California law that requires groundwater to be sustainably managed.

Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) - “Also known as Indigenous Local Knowledge—ILK and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge—ITK. Defined as knowledge and practices passed from generation to generation informed by cultural memories, sensitivity to change, and values that include reciprocity. TEK observations are qualitative and long-term, often made by persons who hunt, fish, and gather for subsistence. Most importantly, TEK is inseparable from a culture’s spiritual and social fabric, offering irreplaceable ecocultural knowledge that can be thousands of years old and incorporates values, such as kinship with nature and reciprocity, that can help restore ecosystems.” (Definition from Traditional Ecological Knowledge Lab at Oregon State University)

Water spreading/flood irrigation - Letting water flow through systems of ditches and along soil surfaces using gravity.

Water year/precipitation year - October 1 (the start of the rainy season in California) to September 30th of the following year.