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Garamendi Undaunted By Mono Lake SetbackState Senator John Garamendi has vowed to continue his efforts to save Mono Lake despite a disappointing setback on April 9. The Senate Agriculture and Water Resources Committee voted 7-1 against Garamendi’s bill (SB 1617) to reduce water diversions from the Mono Basin by the Los Angeles Department of Water Power.Each year, the Los Angeles Aqueduct System diverts 120,000 acre feet of water that otherwise would flow into Mono Lake via tributary streams. The lake’s level has fallen over forty feet since the diversions began in 1941.“We’re not giving up on Mono Lake, ” Garamendi declared. “That lake simply has to be saved tor its en-„ vironmental, recreational, and aesthetic va lues. U nfortunately, the DWP refuses to limit in any way its unrestrained ability to use the Los Angeles water rights in Mono County. I think my bill contained a fair and equitable balance between the right of Los Angeles to water and the right of Mono Lake to survival.” Garamendi’s bill would have implemented a 1979 Interagency Task Force plan to protectMono Lake. The Task Force was composed of representatives from Mono County, Los Angeles, and several state and federal agencies. The Task Force plan, in-corporated in Garamendi’s bill, would have reduced Los Angeles’ annual water diversions by 85,000 acre feet and raised Mono Lake to its 1970 level, an increase of 15 vertical feet.
Newspaper Details
Folsom Telegraph
Folsom, California, US
Wed, May 21, 1980
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Hsiu L.
NA, NA 16 Apr 2025
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