Diverse Los Angeles coalition calls on Mayor Bass to not increase water exports from the Mono Basin this year

By Arya, Communications Director for Mono Lake Committee

The Mono Lake Committee, together with over 25 Los Angeles-based conservation and environmental justice groups, has delivered a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asking that the city avoid quadrupling the amount of water it diverts away from Mono Lake this year by choosing not to increase diversions this year. 

The letter states that after two consecutive years of ample rainfall, the City has sufficient water supplies without increasing its diversion of water from Mono Lake. The letter goes on to note the amount of water they are asking the city to forgo is just a tiny fraction of the city’s water supply.

Signed by the leaders of environmental justice groups including Communities for a Better Environment, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Pacoima Beautiful, alongside groups including the Sierra Club, the Los Angeles Water Keeper, and LA Audubon, the letter notes that the mayor has the authority to divert less water from Mono Lake than allowed. 

Despite the California State Water Resources Control Board’s 1994 ruling, Mono Lake’s level still falls nearly ten vertical feet short of the 6,392-elevation target. 

This article was originally published on the Mono Lake Committee's website. Read Here: https://www.monolake.org/today/diverse-los-angeles-coalition-calls-on-mayor-to-not-increase-water-exports-from-the-mono-basin-this-year/