A Fiefdom No More

For eight decades, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power treated the Owens Valley as a fiefdom. Early in the century, the city secretly bought up most of the private land in the 60-mile-long valley on the east side of the Sierra Nevada to get its water rights. Then it took the Owens River and piped its waters 300 miles to the south to fuel the L.A. boom.

Whenever Owens Valley residents challenged the city for drying up the area, Los Angeles officials refused to be held accountable for the environmental damage. In effect, they said, “If you don’t like it, sue us.” So the Owens Valley folk sued. And they won. Time and again, the DWP would lose a lawsuit, would appeal and would lose again. The city wasted millions in legal bills.

Finally, Los Angeles saw the folly of that strategy and negotiated environmental restoration agreements involving the Owens Valley and Mono Lake. But the DWP seemed to revert to its old arrogance this year and stonewalled an order from the local air pollution district to control the dust blowing off the dry Owens Lake, just south of Lone Pine, the lake being dry because Los Angeles took the water that used to feed it. Now the dust storms it spawns present a health hazard to valley communities.

Late this summer, Mayor Richard Riordan appointed a take-charge director for the DWP and visited the valley. The city promised that the Owens Lake problem would be solved. Valley residents were pleasantly stunned by the turnaround but remained skeptical.

This past week, the city went the next step, pledging $60 million to the first phase of the dust-control program.

“The city is now saying this is a health problem and we are responsible for cleaning it up,” said Chris O’Donnell, a consultant representing the mayor.

It all seems too good to be true for many in the Owens Valley; the proof will come when the dust stops blowing. But for now at least the valley’s residents are no longer being treated like feudal subjects.