… [T]he Los Angeles Department of Water and Power continues to divert water from the Mono Basin, even after the city has pledged to source 70% of its water locally by 2035 and is in the process of building up expansive resources to recycle water. … Now, the Mono Lake Committee is petitioning California water authorities to stop Los Angeles from taking any water from the Mono Basin at all. They argue that if Los Angeles stops diverting water, more water would go back to Mono Lake faster. … The movement to save Mono Lake is rekindling, preparing to fight big city interests once more at an upcoming hearing held by the California State Water Resources Control Board. At the heart of the contentious, ongoing clash is a similar question to the one David [Gaines, founder of the Mono Lake Committee] asked 50 years ago: Can we sustain the natural resources that prop up the biggest cities in the West? Or will climate change force us to choose?