{"id":13562,"date":"2026-03-21T11:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/california-water-regulators-are-re-examining-why-mono-lake-hasnt-resurfaced\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:14:09","slug":"california-water-regulators-are-re-examining-why-mono-lake-hasnt-resurfaced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/california-water-regulators-are-re-examining-why-mono-lake-hasnt-resurfaced\/","title":{"rendered":"California water regulators are re-examining why Mono Lake hasn’t resurfaced"},"content":{"rendered":"

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More than three decades after Los Angeles’ historic decision to limit water taking from rising Mono Lake levels, California regulators are re-examining why the lake still hasn’t rebounded and what should be done about it.<\/p>\n

At the request of state water officials, UCLA climate scientists developed a new model to analyze why the lake is well below its state-mandated target level. in a new report<\/a>Without L.A.’s use of water from creeks that feed the lake, its water level would be about 4 feet higher \u2014 close to that required limit, he said. <\/p>\n

“The way exports are regulated, it is impossible to meet lake level objectives,” UCLA climate scientist Alex Hall told members of the California State Water Resources Control Board at a meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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<\/picture>\n
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August 2, 2025 A canoe tour stops near Tufa to learn about the biodiversity and ecosystem of Mono Lake.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

While their UCLA team speculated that climate change also played a role, keeping Mono Lake down about 2.6 feet, the researchers concluded that stopping L.A.’s water exports would nearly double the chances of the lake reaching its target level within the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

In a 1994 decision, state water regulators demanded the L.A. Department of Water and Power take steps to limit the flow of water and raise the lake level by 17 feet. Mono Lake is now higher than before, but still about 9 feet below the required level. <\/p>\n

DWP managers said they had questions and wanted to investigate the UCLA analysis.<\/p>\n

Eric Tillmans, DWP’s interim aqueduct manager, told the state board that the city’s study found that Mono Lake’s level is “more dependent on precipitation, evaporation and runoff than any other factors.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a highly technically and scientifically innovative modeling effort, but it was not developed through any facilitated process or expert peer-review,\u201d Tillmans said, \u201crequiring additional time to complete the thorough review.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anselmo Collins, DWP Chief Operating Officer and Senior Assistant General Manager, Said<\/u><\/a> The analysis conducted by the UCLA researchers must be thoroughly examined before state officials consider whether it should be used to guide policy decisions.<\/p>\n

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\"Mono <\/picture>\n
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In 1994, the State Water Resources Control Board set a target level for Mono Lake at 6,392 feet above sea level. The level is still about 9 feet below that.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

In recent years, LA has received about 2% of its water from eastern Sierra creeks in the Mono Basin. Environmental advocates call on the city to take less water to help the lake reach a healthy level<\/u> And support an ecosystem that is important for migratory birds.<\/p>\n

Richard Katz, former President<\/u> Proposed in a Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners Letter<\/u><\/a> Told the state board that DWP should stop using water from the Mono Basin. He wrote that doing so would be “the quickest and most economical way” to raise the lake level.<\/p>\n

Katz also said a recent decision by the city double the size<\/u> The water-recycling project provides a “unique opportunity” to revitalize Mono Lake while enhancing local water.<\/p>\n

Others who spoke on Tuesday meeting<\/u><\/a> There were calls for the State Water Board in Sacramento to intervene and say that LA should take less water, or stop taking water altogether, to raise the lake.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a long time since this has been allowed to happen,” said Noah Williams, a member of the Bishop Paiute tribe. He said the focus should be on “really addressing the issue of increasing the height of the lake.”<\/p>\n

Former LA City Council member Ruth Galanter, who helped broker the agreement that laid the groundwork for the 1994 decision, urged the state board to insist that DWP meet its commitment.<\/p>\n

“Delays like this bring regulation into disrepute and make people lose faith in the notion that government is there to serve you,” Galanter said. “So it’s not just Mono Lake that’s at stake here. It’s the credibility of our legal system and our regulatory system.”<\/p>\n

Geoffrey McQuilkin, executive director of the nonprofit Mono Lake Committee, urged the State Water Board to take action, saying that over three decades the DWP has shown it will not willingly restore this national treasure. He agreed with Katz that the city should stop using water from the area until Mono Lake rises.<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/picture>\n
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Geoffrey McQuilkin, executive director of the Mono Lake Committee, looks through binoculars at Mono Lake’s South Tufa on August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n

(Myung J. Chun\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Janice Quinones, DWP departure of top executive<\/u>Disagree. He told the State Water Board on March 13 Letter<\/u><\/a> Los Angeles has reduced water use from the Mono Basin since 1994, but further reducing the volume is unlikely to greatly accelerate the lake’s growth.<\/p>\n

Quinones also said that the protections taken by the State Water Board, as well as additional steps taken by the DWP, “have been successful.”<\/p>\n

“Mono Lake stands in stark contrast to all other salt lakes in the West \u2013 including the Salton Sea and the Great Salt Lake \u2013 which are declining in height and facing significant environmental issues,” they wrote.<\/p>\n

Quinones told the board that reducing or stopping the city’s water use from the Mono Basin “would be unfair, imprudent and would place an undue financial burden on LADWP ratepayers.”<\/p>\n

It is not clear when the State Water Board will call its next meeting on the matter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than three decades after Los Angeles’ historic decision to limit water taking from rising Mono Lake levels, California regulators are re-examining why the lake still hasn’t rebounded and what should be done about it. At the request of state water officials, UCLA climate scientists developed a new model to analyze why the lake is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[747,2038,4170,6600,6599,1915,6601,169],"class_list":["post-13562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-verse","tag-california","tag-hasnt","tag-lake","tag-mono","tag-reexamining","tag-regulators","tag-resurfaced","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13564,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13562\/revisions\/13564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}