Blog: April 1, 2024 Mono Lake level triggers important choice for DWP
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) and Mono Lake Committee staff met this morning at the shore of Mono Lake to conduct the annual joint reading of the surface elevation of Mono Lake. The consensus is that the lake stands at 6,383.70 feet above mean sea level which means that Mono Lake is only halfway to the 6,392-foot elevation level mandated by the California State Water Resources Control Board 30 years ago to resolve ecological, wildlife, economic, Tribal, public trust, and air quality harms caused by the lowering of Mono Lake. Today’s lake level triggers an important choice for DWP: Will the Department choose a nearly fourfold increase in diversions (16,000 acre-feet), or will it choose to leave exports unchanged (4,500 acre-feet) and preserve the lake level gains of the record-wet winter of 2023?
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