Water Rights Pact With L.A. Wins Approval in Inyo County

Angering a roomful of opponents, the Inyo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday for an unprecedented pact with Los Angeles that would let the city take more water from distant Owens Valley while forbidding future damage there to vegetation and wells.

If also approved in Los Angeles, the agreement would cool 70 years of rivalry between the city and officials of the mountain and high desert county where Los Angeles has obtained most of its water since engineer William Mulholland christened his 240-mile aqueduct with the words, “There it is. Take it.”

Whether the agreement will soothe the citizenry of Owens Valley, however, was left unclear by the unanimous vote Tuesday.

Last Friday, nearly 200 local ranchers and other residents had turned out at a community meeting where the agreement was widely derided. On Tuesday, an overflow crowd showed at the County Courthouse in Independence for the vote, and all but one speaker opposed the pact. Immediately after the vote, Beverly Brons of Bishop unveiled what she said were recall petitions against the five supervisors.

The agreement, which has been in negotiations between Inyo officials and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power since 1985, was the second version to meet with strong public disapproval in Owens Valley this year.

Last spring, Inyo supervisors and Los Angeles officials held a ceremony to introduce the agreement to local residents. The leaders hailed it as a historic step, but heavy opposition among residents forced the supervisors to reconsider. They persuaded Los Angeles to reopen negotiations.

The second version approved Tuesday includes some stronger language on protections for private wells and vegetation in Owens Valley. Before the vote, Inyo supervisors said the revised agreement was the best they could obtain. In exchange, Los Angeles could sink new wells and increase the amount of water pumped into the aqueduct.

Vocal Supporter

Mary Dedecker, the most vocal Owens Valley supporter of the agreement, said the supervisors were right to approve the pact. “It is an improvement over the original concept,” Dedecker said. “Our valley is adequately protected.”

However, opponents said they are skeptical about promises that the pact will require Los Angeles to shut down any ground water pump found to be hurting the environment or lowering nearby wells. Many Owens Valley residents blame Los Angeles pumps for a widespread die-off of trees.

Critics also said the people should be allowed to vote on the agreement. “So many people are against it,” said Joy Wilson of Lone Pine. “It’s like my daughter marrying the man who has been robbing her. What kind of democracy is this? Why can’t we vote on it?”

Charles Hunter of Aberdeen added that “you should not railroad this agreement through. Put it on the ballot in November.”

Opposition also came from local officials in Mono County to the north, where Los Angeles also obtains water for the aqueduct from streams that supply Mono Lake. Two Town Council members from Mammoth Lakes, Barbara Campbell and Kirk Stapp, urged the Inyo supervisors to hold off.

‘Don’t Rush This’

“It affects all of us (in the eastern Sierra), not just Inyo County,” said Campbell. “Please don’t rush this.”

However, Supervisor H. B. (Lefty) Irwin, who made the motion to approve the pact, said that the supervisors, their staff and the staff of the county water commission were all unanimously agreed that the pact was a good deal for Inyo County.

The pact would avoid a courtroom clash between Inyo and Los Angeles and peacefully settle lawsuits that each has filed against the other, Inyo officials said. If Inyo had pressed its case that ground water pumping by Los Angeles should be restricted, the county might have lost any power to regulate the pumping, Inyo officials said.

Under the agreement, Los Angeles and Inyo County are to cooperate on an environmental impact report on the ground water pumping. Two earlier reports by Los Angeles have been rejected by courts as inadequate.

Before the agreement becomes final, the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Tom Bradley must approve the terms.