What happened on May 7th at the Technical Group Meeting?
On May 7th, 2026, the Inyo County-LADWP Technical Group met in Bishop. The main goal was to discuss LADWP’s draft Annual Operations Plan for the 2026-2027 runoff year.
Check out LADWP’s Draft Annual Operations Plan here
In the meeting, technical staff from Inyo County and LADWP discussed the County’s comments on this year’s draft plan. Here are some key components of Inyo County’s comments:
Inyo County asked for 46,540 acre-feet(1) of groundwater pumping.
This number is lower than LADWP’s proposed pumping range of 54,000 AF to 81,000 AF.
Inyo County prioritized pumping reductions in areas where vegetation parcels have been struggling for many years (Laws, Taboose-Aberdeen, and Symmes-Shepherd wellfields). In these areas, Inyo County proposed pumping only the minimum amount of water that is required for in-valley uses, and not pumping for export to Los Angeles from those wellfields. This plan would provide targeted relief to areas that are struggling the most under the current pumping regime.
Inyo County asked LADWP to provide more transparency around how much water it needs to pump from each wellfield to satisfy its commitments to in-valley mitigation projects, irrigation and other local uses. If LADWP clarified these numbers, it would allow Inyo County and water advocates to better understand what minimal pumping in each wellfield might look like. The county also advocated for LADWP to use surface water, rather than pumped water, for these in-valley projects whenever possible.
Finally, Inyo County raised concern over LADWP’s plans to test and/or install several wells that would only pump from the deepest aquifers. The county asked that a cooperative study be performed prior to any pump tests or installation of new wells.
Check out Inyo County’s comment letter here
Public attendance at the Technical Group meeting was substantial, with over 30 people appearing online and approximately 20 people attending in person. Public comments uniformly advocated for LADWP to accept Inyo County’s recommendations and to overall reduce water extraction from the Eastern Sierra. The public also called for increased transparency over how LADWP decides on its pumping regime, for increased public comment time at future meetings, and for LADWP to better inform the public about future meetings. The stated purpose of this Technical Group meeting was for LADWP to attempt to resolve Inyo County’s concerns. However, by the end of the meeting, it was unclear whether LADWP planned to implement any of Inyo County’s suggestions. LADWP would not commit to any specific plan, but offered assurances that it would consider Inyo County’s comments and the public’s advocacy. In a few days, LADWP will release its finalized plan. While the last few years have seen LADWP pump at or under its minimum estimates, the Interim Aqueduct Manager explained that this was due to maintenance on the aqueduct system, rather than change in water extraction strategy. Therefore, it’s unclear whether LADWP will respond to Inyo County’s request for reduced pumping going forward.
Regardless of the finalized plan, on May 27th, the Standing Committee meeting will be held in Bishop. This will be an opportunity for water protectors and advocates to speak directly to power players in LADWP and urge them to extract less water and re-imagine how Los Angeles might meet its needs without wringing water from the ecosystems, lands, and communities of the Eastern Sierra. Check back here next week (week of May 18th) for more information about the Standing Committee meeting and how we can continue to advocate for more water to stay where it belongs.
Notes:
(1): 1 Acre Foot (AF) is equivalent to 325,851 gallons or approximately 16 residential swimming pools. Pumping 81,000 AF from the Eastern Sierra would be the equivalent of pumping 1,296,000 swimming pools of water out of the ground, or 26,393,931,000 (26 billion) gallons.