Rehydrating the Owens Valley : 84 years after L.A.’s water grab, the area gets some relief

Barring a possible last-minute hitch, the way now appears clear for final approval of an agreement governing the pumping and export of Owens Valley ground water to Los Angeles. This is good news, but it does not mean the bitterness in the valley over Los Angeles’ secretive water grab of nearly a century ago will evaporate. Or that the environment of the eastern Sierra valley will suddenly bloom as it did when orchards flourished there before the Los Angeles Aqueduct began carrying water south in 1913.

But the agreement will legally limit the amount of water the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power can pump from beneath the valley floor, and it also sets in motion a series of environmental mitigation measures. Most significant of these is a plan to restore water to the lower 67 miles of the Owens River.

Riverside vegetation will begin to make a comeback. A fishery will be restored. There will be wetlands for waterfowl. Los Angeles will still own most of the valley, but the valley itself will become a richer resource and a more alluring vacation region.

The possible hitch was raised in a letter from the state’s Third District Court of Appeal, which will have the final say in the case. The court questioned whether the settlement would live up to the California Environmental Quality Act in view of the fact Los Angeles still has not submitted an acceptable environmental impact report on the project.

But all six parties in the case, including the Sierra Club and the Owens Valley Committee, an environmental coalition, have told the court that the agreement in toto--including the EIR--indeed meets the spirit of the state’s guiding environmental law.

Inyo County supervisors approved the agreement earlier this month on a 5-0 vote and it now is before the Los Angeles City Council for expected ratification. The final stop is with the appeals court in Sacramento, possibly in April. If the pact is good enough for all parties in the case, it should satisfy the court too.