Daris Moxley and her husband operate a 200-acre LADWP ranch lease in Bishop that has been managed by her family since the early 1930s. During 2011, she irrigated only ninety-nine acres leaving the rest unwatered as prescribed in her lease agreement. Over the years, she has seen the quality of her pasture decline drastically due to irrigation cutbacks which are set by the LADWP. Moxley is one of the few voices within the local ranching community to express her concern over LADWP’s pasture management policies—which she feels do not provide adequate irrigation to ensure a healthy pasture.
During our 2012 interview, Moxley recalled, “When we’d dig post holes we’d go down about five feet and it would be a scramble to get your post in before the hole would fill up with water. Now, this spring, my husband and I were digging a hole and we were down to ten feet and we barely had moist soil—we never got a drop of water! This was within four feet of a running ditch.” Moxley is concerned that, if the pumping continues, overdrafts will lower the area’s groundwater table beyond recovery.
Historically, Owens Valley ranching continued to operate even though the City of Los Angeles had purchased 211,665 acres of land and water rights by the early 1930s.[1] Not long after these purchases were made the LADWP began leasing much of the acreage they had acquired back to the original ranch owners through short-term, five-year lease contracts. Their lease agreement stated that it could be canceled at any time without prior notice and additionally if more water was needed during a drought period or when annual runoff was insufficient for the city’s water needs. Property improvements, construction of outbuildings or repairs, were and continue to be the financial responsibility of the lessee. Owens Valley ranchers are generally supportive of their landlord but with the looming possibility of not having their lease renewed it can be assumed that most refrain from any outright public criticism of LADWP to avoid termination.
LADWP range management policies have significantly altered the Owens Valley’s agrarian landscape over the last 100 years; in 1920, 75,000 acres were irrigated as pasture and by 1960, only 30,000 acres remained. By 2002, less than 12,000 acres were irrigated for ranching and farming purposes.[2] As of 2006, fifty LADWP ranch lease agreements were in place in Owens Valley. Ten were leased in Mono County.
Ranchers are charged with monitoring and maintaining their lease to “provide a reliable high-quality water supply to Los Angeles.” This arrangement allows the LADWP to concentrate on its water export activities rather than land maintenance and associated costs with running a ranch. Irrigated pasture helps recharge the groundwater table—which, of course, LADWP eventually pumps for export. Lease renewals are not subject to competitive bidding—once the five-year period is up they are generally renewed to the existing lessee. Lessees are required to keep 75 percent of their land open to the public to allow city-sanctioned recreational activities. This significantly contributes to Owens Valley’s appeal as an underdeveloped, open space region. Lessees must have an approved grazing management plan in place and maintain their lease under certain conditions that include the 1981-82 baseline standards for vegetation management as stated in the Inyo-LA Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA). The LTWA requires that groundwater pumping be managed to avoid significant impacts on the surrounding natural habitat while at the same time providing a consistent water supply for the City of Los Angeles.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the maximum long-term average groundwater pumping volume consistent with goals stated in the LTWA is 70,000 acre-feet per year. This ensures environmental protection requirements throughout the Owens Valley are upheld regarding the agreement. LADWP reported in 2006 that its pumping averaged 94,809 acre-feet per year—far above the maximum stated in the LTWA.[3] Environmentalists note that previous pumping occurring during the nineteen years of litigation before the LTWA was signed caused permanent drawdown of the underlying water table that, in turn, caused associated environmental impacts. This, along with climate change, has led to a rapid increase in desertification throughout Owens Valley.
Track Credits
Music: Claire Diterzi, “White Sands” (used by permission).
FOOTNOTES (click to open/close)
[1] Greg James, “Changing Perspectives on Groundwater Management: The Owens Valley (2002),” Inyo County Water Department, accessed September 8, 2012, http://www.inyowater.org/About_ICWD/chg_pers.htm.
[2] James, “Changing Perspectives on Groundwater Management.”
[3] “Groundwater Management,” Owens Valley Committee, accessed September 12, 2020, https://owensvalley.org/2015/12/15/groundwater-management.