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Lee Vinning, California – The picturesque Tufa tower on the shore of Lake Mono has long been a saltwater lake icon, formed by underwater springs for centuries and remains high and dry as Los Angeles diverts water from nearby streams. Visitors strolling by the wrapping water take photos of the lumpy carbonate layers, as a flock of migratory birds soar above their heads.
However, residents, local officials and environmentalists say the lake levels should be much higher than today, and the fully exposed Tufa spire indicates that LA is far from fulfilling its obligation to restore the lake’s health.
That commitment came in a groundbreaking 1994 decision that required state water controllers to limit water detours to LA’s Water and Electricity Department and take steps to raise the lake’s levels by 17 feet. Mono Lake is 8 feet taller than it was then, but is about 9 feet below the level set required 31 years ago.
Frustrated by what they consider to be L.A.’s late progress, environmental advocates are turning to the state’s Water Resources Management Board and setting new rules that further limit detours to allow lakes to rise towards target levels.
“We’re not in good condition right now,” said Bert Similler, policy director for the nonprofit Monolake Committee. “In terms of ecosystem health, the lake has systemic diseases and requires more water to restore full health and vitality.”
Miller and other conservators say they are concerned that the lake is far below natural levels, causing worsening ecological conditions and declining populations of some birds.
The Osprey flaps its wings on Tufa in Lake Mono.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
DWP managers disagree, stating that the ecosystem is relatively healthy and that the lake has benefited from the city’s efforts over the past 30 years.
Still, the LA Water and Power Commission President Richard Katz said he and other city leaders would like to help raise the level of the lake.
“I hope we don’t need to get water out of Mono Lake anymore. It’s a long-term goal,” Katz said.
Katz said he plans to explore urban options to reduce dependence on water from monoben.
“I think Mono Lake is a unique resource. We should do everything we can to make sure it’s healthy,” Katz said.
Lake Health Discussion
Located east of Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake is replenished by five streams carrying snowmelt cascades from Sierra Nevada. The lake is 2.5 times more salty than the sea, and is located at the foot of the East Sierra, where mountains meet the desert of the large basin.
The DWP will divert water from two of these streams, send Leevining and Rush, and send supplies flowing nearly 340 miles on the Los Angeles aqueduct.
Over 300 species of birds are located in and around the 45,000 acres of lakes, and birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway serve as important stopover points for brine shrimp and alkaline fly larvae.
Each year, thousands of California seagulls arrive to nest on the lake island. Biologists who conducted an annual survey last year found that seagulls suffered from large nest building failures. Over 20,000 adult birds have now begun to breed, but researchers have found that only 324 chicks survive. Data from this year’s survey have not been released yet.
California seagulls fly over the waters of Mono Lake at sunrise.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
On a recent morning, Miller piloted a motorboat to an island where seagulls nest. With him, Jeffrey McKilkin, executive director of the Monolake Committee, held binoculars pointing to Ospreys, American Abosetts, Wilson’s Farraropes and other birds.
Thousands of cwing seagulls perched on a rocky island shook, and newly hatched chicks swaying in the water.
Miller said seeing more young seagulls is encouraging. However, he added that seagulls are still in the midst of an astounding long-term population decline.
“There’s half of the seagulls like before, and the decline has accelerated since 2015,” Miller said.
McQuilkin said the struggling seagull population reflects the broader ecological problems.
“This is an indicator that something has to change in the way DWP works,” McKilkin said. “The lake is not healthy.”
In a 1994 decision, the state water committee set limits on the detours of the DWP and set a target at the lake level at 6,392 feet above sea level. The board said that if the lake does not reach a level close to that level by 2014, it will hold a hearing to “determine whether further revisions are needed” to the DWP licence.
Geoffrey McQuilkin is executive director of the Mono Lake Committee. He says the lake needs to reach higher levels as needed based on the 1994 state decision to restore ecological health.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“We have to do something to get to level 6,392 and get more water in the lake,” McKilkin said. “It’s a promise to the people of California and they’re way off the schedule.”
DWP officials say they welcome the opportunity to revisit Lake Mono and encourage the state’s water committee to schedule a hearing.
“I think Mono Lake is in a healthy state,” said Adam Perez, director of water operations at DWP. “Compared to many other lakes like Great Salt Lake, which are experiencing many challenges today, it’s a healthy and thriving ecosystem.”
Drought and water detours have pushed Utah’s great Salt Lake to very low levels, but Mono Lake levels have risen repeatedly over the past 20 years and collapsed.
DWP’s management and environmental efforts, including the Stream Restoration project, have been bringing significant benefits to ecosystems since 1994, Perez said.
“The lake is managed in an environmentally responsible way,” Perez said. “I feel that Mono Lake has a balanced approach.”
The state hearing will provide an opportunity to look into science regarding lake conditions, including salt, brine shrimp and bird populations, Perez said.
The seagull study doesn’t clearly show why nesting was less productive last year, he said, saying a variety of factors could play a role.
Perez emphasized that detours in LA affect lake levels, but the bigger factor is whether the conditions are wet or dry.
The lake faded during California’s 2020-22 drought. In 2023, deep snow from Sierra Nevada brought rich runoffs, raising the lake about five feet.
However, in the last 12 months, the lake has fallen over a foot, eroding some profits.
Environmental advocates were encouraged last year when DWP officials announced their initial plan to only consume limited amounts of water from monoben. They were later disappointed when the DWP detoured a large amount of water.
“These annual detours by Los Angeles continue to halt progress,” McKilkin said, adding that raising water levels is especially important as climate change leads to more severe droughts.
The Monolake Committee and other environmental groups have urged the city to reduce its dependence on Sierras Nomelt through close-in efforts, including recycling wastewater, catching stormwater runoff and cleaning contaminated groundwater.
In Lee Vinning’s Lakeside community, several residents said they wanted to see more water left in the area.
“I think La should look for another source of water,” said longtime resident Marsha Braver. “Leave all the streams alone. Let them do that naturally.”
A long-term battle
The Los Angeles aqueduct was completed in 1913 and linked Owens Valley to LA through a series of concrete channels and tunnels. The extension was then completed to connect the aqueduct to streams in the Mono Basin, where the city has deflected waters.
Water flows through gravity, so without pumping, the aqueduct continues to be the city’s most economical supply.
Lee Vining Conduit diverts water from the detour pond at Lee Vining Creek to the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Over the past five years, LA has acquired around 41% of supply from the East Sierra.
Few years ago, when a heavy detour plunged the levels of the lake, voice opposition by groups of activists led to one of California’s longest-running environmental wars.
In the late 1970s, as the lake approached historic lows and salt was increasing, activists began organizing protests on the coast, retaining signs of slogans such as “rehydrate here” and “Save the brine shrimp.”
Since 1980, the annual bikes from Los Angeles to the Lake have been organized and organized to raise awareness. Blue bumper stickers declaring “Save Mono Lake” have begun to appear in cars.
Environmental groups also fought in court, winning the doctrine of public trusts in 1983, when the California Supreme Court ruled that the principle that certain natural resources must be preserved in the public is applied to Mono Lake. It laid the foundation for the state’s decision in 1994, significantly reducing the amount of water it could ingest.
The state water committee is currently planning to take up the issue of Mono Lake again, but the scope and format of the hearing is still under discussion, said Jessica Bean, who manages the initiative.
She said it was a concern that she had not yet reached target lake levels. “The fact that we haven’t reached it is a problem and we want to find a way to achieve it.”
The salty lake bottom stretch along Lake Mono shore releases dust on windy days.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Those seeking solutions to raise the lake levels include leaders from the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, who estimate that the current shortage is exposed to the lake bottom, which spits around two square miles of dust.
Mono Basin often has clean air, but windy days kick dust along the exposed stretch of the lake bottom, leading to dangerous levels of air pollution in remote areas along the north shore.
“The most viable solution is to raise the lake levels,” said Anne Logan, the district’s air pollution control officer, who is standing at the bottom of a salt-contained lake that will be submerged if target levels are achieved.
Eric Tillemans, La Aqueduct Manager at DWP, said that dust will be released during high wind events, but “there is no evidence that these emissions are affecting human health due to remote areas.” He said DWP officials suggest that when strong winds are predicted, the open solution is to have a warning system and limit public access to areas where remote dust is prone to generation.
On a recent afternoon at Lee Vinning, longtime residents spoke about the condition of the lake. They shared cob and corn grilled tri-tips and corn at an outdoor gathering held by the Kootzaduka tribes in Mono Lake.
Ruth Austin, a 92-year-old Indigenous woman, said she grew up by the lake and now lives elsewhere, but her father worked on the crew who helped build the water infrastructure in the 1930s. She remembers a much taller lake in adolescence when she went to the shore with her family.
“I think there’s a big difference in the lake, and that’s a lot of falling,” Austin said.
The land by the lake where her family lived once had green fields and abundant flowing water, Austin said.
“It’s all gone,” she said. “It’s sad to see the lake.”
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