Join Friends of the Inyo on Monday 2/9 for the Inyo County Water Commission Meeting!
Join us on Monday 2/9 for the Inyo County Water Commission Meeting!
What’s happening?
The Inyo County Water Commission is meeting NEXT WEEK! This is their first meeting of 2026. This Water Commission is an advisory body to the Inyo County Board of Supervisors. One of their responsibilities is educating the public about local water issues and soliciting public opinion. They also give recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.
The Water Commission meeting will be held on Monday, February 9, at 6pm.
These meetings are a great way for the public to get involved and learn more about our county’s water. If interested folks consistently engage with this Water Commission, we can use it to help us push for meaningful change in the region’s water stewardship.
What can I do?
Come join us!
Attend the meeting and learn more about our county’s water. This will be a hybrid (in-person + online) meeting.
- In-Person: Inyo County Consolidated Office Building, Room 100
- Full address: 1360 N. Main St. Bishop, CA
- Online: Zoom will be available for remote participation
Click here to join Zoom meeting
Give public comment
Contribute to the meeting by giving public comment. Every voice matters!
We will be especially focused on Agenda Item #10:this year’s LADWP Annual Operations Plan process. The Annual Operations Plan is a document that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) prepares each spring. It details LADWP’s plans for groundwater pumping and overall water management for the next 12 months. The Inyo County Water Department provides recommendations and discusses this plan in meetings with LADWP before it is finalized.
On Monday, we are going to ask the Water Commission to give a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. We would like the Board of Supervisors to direct the Inyo County Water Department to present LADWP with a list of what Inyo County would like to see in this year’s Annual Operations Plan. We would like the Water Department to present this list to LADWP in February.
Some goals that have been discussed in the past:
- Producing a schedule of water extraction reduction to allow groundwater levels to rise and then stay within the root zones of the valley’s groundwater-dependent vegetation.
- Re-evaluate the status of all wells “exempt” from monitoring to reveal potential impacts that have not been studied for years.
- Identify which parcels have transitioned to drier vegetation types, which is happening across the valley and is prohibited under the Long Term Water Agreement.
You have an opportunity to help shape water management in this valley. Please consider: what would you like to see LADWP incorporate into this year’s Annual Operations Plan?
Want to learn more?
Check out the advocacy Eastern Sierra Water Alliance (ESWA) website to learn more about our water justice work in the valley.
Eastern Sierra Water Alliance website
Check out the educational Revealing Payahuunadü website to learn more about water history in our region, the impacts of water extraction, and visions for a more just future.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Thank you!
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