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LA Times: DWP lawsuits over water rights may put squeeze on Mammoth Lakes
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mammoth-water-20120629,0,5547575.storyThe DWP launched a legal attack six months ago for control of the city's primary source of water, Mammoth Creek, which tumbles down the slopes through town. The utility contends it has owned the water since 1905 and Mammoth Lakes has been poaching for decades.
The tiny Mammoth Community Water District says that if it loses the lawsuits, the district would have to buy water from the DWP. That would force the district to raise average rates to levels many locals cannot afford — increasing them by at least 100%, to about $840 a year, one district official said.
The tiny Mammoth Community Water District says that if it loses the lawsuits, the district would have to buy water from the DWP. That would force the district to raise average rates to levels many locals cannot afford — increasing them by at least 100%, to about $840 a year, one district official said.
Seems like an interesting lawsuit: even if DWP did own the rights in 1905, I wonder if there's some sort of adverse possession equivalent that would make the later state grants take precedence. And certainly important for the Eastern Sierra - with the economy and lack of snowpack, I'm guessing most towns out there are seriously on the ropes.
After long legal battles, the DWP has been forced to help restore land it drained by giving up water to maintain levels in Mono Lake, re-water parts of the dry Owens Lake and restore a 62-mile stretch of the Lower Owens River.
The utility believes the Owens Lake effort alone unfairly raises rates for its customers by an average of at least $20 a year. Facing an estimated $238-million budget deficit, the DWP is trying to increase revenue from the Eastern Sierra and put as much water as possible into the aqueduct to L.A.
The utility believes the Owens Lake effort alone unfairly raises rates for its customers by an average of at least $20 a year. Facing an estimated $238-million budget deficit, the DWP is trying to increase revenue from the Eastern Sierra and put as much water as possible into the aqueduct to L.A.
I was actually feeling a bit positively toward DWP as the Mono restoration progressed. But "unfairly"!?
