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Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council
Take Action -- Keep LA's Water Supply from Mono Basin
Posted on 02/21/23
Hello Fellow Neghborhood Council Leader & Stakeholders:
(1) L A has a new water war: keeping its supply from Mono Basin. On our side: almost every important local water agency. On the other side: the common California Seagull (yellow-green legs and a black ring at the tip of its beak).
The state water board could halt *ALL* Los Angeles Water deliveries from Mono Basin. Interest groups have claimed an "ecological emergency" to protect seagulls (which are not an endangered species).
Mono Lake is above the level needed to protect their nesting island, which is over 700 feet from the shore. An abundant snow pack (230 percent of normal) assures the lake will rise further this spring. LADWP is in compliance with its state agreement to preserve Mono Lake. The claimed 'emergency' does not match the facts.
California's current drought is extreme. Los Angeles cannot easily make up for the loss of its lowest-cost and cleanest water because both the Colorado River and the State Water Project are in crisis.
Below is information provided by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, including two different "talking points" you might use in a public comment to the State Water Resources Conbtrol Board (SWRCB).
Please email a public comment to [email protected] before *4:00 pm* on Friday, March 17, 2023.
References:
Los Angeles Times article, February 19, 2023:
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-02-19/los-angeles-dwp-fights-to-keep-spigot-open-at-mono-lake
State Water Board's Mono Lake Basin Information Page:
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/mono_lake/
(2) If you have an interest in all matters regarding our city water and power, including green energy, recycling and capturing local water, and water and power RATES, please ask to join a new email list. It will generate a few emails each month. We will NOT be using the 'board list' for frequent communications on DWP news, meetings, and issues.
Please send a brief email request with your name and neighborhood to:
Subject Line: NCDWP LIST
To: Stephanie Spicer <[email protected]>
Cc: Tony Wilkinson <[email protected]>, Jack Humphreville <[email protected]
Everyone is welcome to join this email list. You do not need to be a Neighborhood Council board member or an NC-DWP MOU representative.
Our online meetings on the first Saturday of each month from 8:30 am to 10:00 am always have a link on this page:
https://www.ladwpnews.com/dwp-nc-mou-and-advocacy-committee-meetings/
To sign up for the LADWP Community Mailing List (local news from DWP):
https://bit.ly/3R2DqWK
Thank you!
Tony Wilkinson
Chair, Neighborhood Council - LADWP MOU
(Panorama City Neighborhood Council)
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Suggested Mono Basin Water Supply 'Talking Points' from LADWP:
BACKGROUND
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) held a public information workshop on Feb. 15, at which certain interest groups advocated for reducing or eliminating LA’s most cost-effective and least energy intensive water supply from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. LADWP’s water supplies from the Mono Basin are enough to serve as many as 200,000 Angelenos every year. If the SWRCB were to ultimately decide in favor of these groups and make these supplies permanently unavailable to Los Angeles residents, LADWP would be forced to try to replace these vital water supplies with costly alternatives that would not only undoubtedly drive up water bills for Angelenos.
Your input to let the SWRCB know how important Mono Basin supplies are to the livelihood of Angelenos like you is needed. Below are template comments you can submit to the SWRCB to show your support which can be tailored depending on your unique circumstances/viewpoint. Public commentary regarding this workshop will close on March 17, 2023, so we request that you email your comment prior to [email protected] by that date.
Suggested Subject Line/Title #1:
Eliminating Imports from the Mono Basin Will Hurt Disadvantaged Angelenos
Suggested Messaging:
Los Angeles residents have a human right to safe, clean, affordable and reliable water. Water from the Los Angeles Aqueduct is the City’s most cost-effective water supply and is the backbone of the City’s water system. Revoking LADWP’s ability to utilize the Mono Basin water rights belonging to Angelenos like myself will jeopardize our community’s access to water and further burden low-income Los Angeles ratepayers.
The cost of sustainability in Los Angeles has long fallen on the backs of ratepayers – a cost we have taken in stride because it has meant creating a more water-resilient future for our families. However, no amount of conservation will allow our city to be fully independent of imported water supplies, and losing supplies from the LA Aqueduct will only force us to receive water elsewhere. In fact, purchasing water to replace historic LA Aqueduct supplies from the Mono Basin could cost ratepayers up to $44 million per year. Many in our community are already struggling to meet their basic needs: with as many as 50% of Los Angeles residents living in disadvantaged communities, we cannot afford to shoulder an additional expense nor risk reliable access to clean water from our taps.
Suggested Subject Line/Title #2:
Eliminating Imports from the Mono Basin Has Statewide Environmental Impacts
Suggested Messaging:
All of California’s water supplies are connected through a complex system that powers the whole state – one which is already strained to meet both the water needs of Californians and the ecological needs of the already-fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the Colorado River Systems. Revoking Angelenos’ longstanding water rights at Mono Lake – which has maintained lake levels while most other lakes and reservoirs in California have declined due to drought – will only shift additional demand onto these systems.
Due to the prolonged effects of drought, there is no guarantee that supplies from either of Southern California’s other imported water systems (The California State Water Project and the Colorado River) would be available to replace LA Aqueduct supplies should it become necessary.
Even if these systems did have water available, diverting more water to Los Angeles would divert water away from other communities and environments in need, negatively impacting ecosystems across the state. The SWRCB has a responsibility to protect the threatened and endangered species that rely on both of those water systems while maintaining reliable water supplies for the city of Los Angeles.
Paul Liu M.S., P.E., BCEE
Manager of Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program
& Mono Lake Coordination
Aqueduct Section
Water Operations Division
[email protected]
