Water is Key

Ecological Risks in Long Valley

LADWP claims that the end of irrigation water would lead to a restoration of native vegetation adapted to dry conditions. However, the soils have changed from decades of irrigation, and the seeds of earlier plants would most likely be unviable. Suddenly withdrawing water would therefore bring invasive weeds like cheatgrass and thistle. But there is more at stake than “just” the scenic green meadows and useful pasture land becoming parched, brown, and full of invasive weeds, more than “just” wreaking havoc on both pillars of the local economy. The dried-up land would also be ripe for wildfires, which have already occurred on small scales in recent years. And similar to what happened in the Owens Valley after LADWP drained Owens Lake decades ago, dust would pose a significant health hazard to local residents. The court-mandated perpetual remediation of Owens Lake has already cost over $1 billion, borne by L.A. ratepayers. Ultimately, it would end up being far more expensive for those same ratepayers to mitigate the damage of creating a dustbowl in Long Valley than to avoid the dewatering option in the first place – all over a relatively tiny volume for the city that could easily be made up for through urban water conservation.