"With a third year of drought shrinking the creeks that cascade down the eastern Sierra Nevada, the level of Mono Lake has fallen so low it has triggered a 72% reduction in the amount of water Los Angeles can divert from area streams this year.
On April 1, Mono Lake's level measured just under 6,380 feet above sea level—about 1 inch below a threshold set in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's licenses for diverting alpine runoff from streams that feed the lake east of Yosemite National Park.
The measurement, taken at the start of a new runoff year, triggered a requirement that the DWP reduce its annual water exports from 16,000 acre-feet, which is enough to supply 192,000 residents, to 4,500 acre-feet, enough to serve 54,000 residents.
The last time Mono Lake fell below the same threshold was from 2015 to 2017, in the final years of California's last severe drought. The level is measured by gauges along a crusty stretch of shoreline next to the town of Lee Vining."
Louis Sahagún and Ian James report for the Los Angeles Times April 15, 2022.
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