5 ms·
Owens valley is basically dried up from the water that LA takes. It's interesting as you drive in the towns in the Valley and you see all the LA Department of W
by vondur 7mo ago
Owens valley is basically dried up from the water that LA takes. It's interesting as you drive in the towns in the Valley and you see all the LA Department of Water and Power offices over 200 miles from Los Angeles. The courts had to force the LA DWP to quit taking too much water from the streams that feed Mono Lake as it was in danger of drying out.
- kenhwang 7mo agoYep, Owens valley is basically an environmental disaster created by LA. So in the grand scheme of things, buying water from NorCal is better than stealing from the Owens valley through antiquated water rights. But really, California (and really the entire Western US) needs a water rights governance overhaul. Right now the focus is all on urban water use, which is practically negligible compared to the agricultural water rights usage.
- paradox460 7mo agoMuch easier to tell Joe homeowner he's not allowed to have a lawn than to close down the country club. Where would the rich relax then?
- ashdksnndck 7mo agoThe country club is also negligible compared to agriculture. Farmers are politically not an attractive punching bag though.
- rayiner 7mo agoIt’s funny how the above comment reveals exactly why the problem is politically intractable.
- Spooky23 7mo agoThat's a money play too. Some of the best farmland in the world is now the endless subarban Boston->DC corridor. We created the miracle on the desert, and billions were made in real estate.
- kjkjadksj 7mo agoIt isn’t dried up, they maintain a certain water level in the various lakes.
- bronson 7mo agoThe lake is completely dried up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_Lake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_Lake And other lakes in the area are in really bad shape.
- kjkjadksj 7mo agoI disagree I drive through there every winter and the lakes are very large. The ecology of the valley is dry but nowhere near as dry as say the mojave just to the south.
- bronson 7mo agoMojave was a desert. Owens Lake was huge. Your comparison doesn't make sense What natural lakes in the region are still "very large"?