Existing comment:
Lake Elevation History:
1941: In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting water from four of the six streams that fed Mono lake dropping the lake level 45 feet over several decades and affecting the lake's fragile ecosystem.
1978: In 1978, the Mono Lake Committee was founded with a goal of limited diversions and protecting Mono Lake.
1982: The lowest level the lake reached was in 1982 at nearly half its pre diversion volume and twice the salinity.
1994: In September of 1994, the State Water Resources Control Board decided to limit future diversions and maintain Mono Lake at an average elevation of 6392 feet.
1999: Currently, the lake stands at an elevation thirteen feet higher than its historic low and has risen one and a half feet in the past year.
SWRCB Decision: It is estimated that it will take fifteen to twenty years of precipitation to raise the lake an additional seven feet to the state mandated level. |