Water Department
The Monitor 1998
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LADWP Pumping and Uses on the
Bishop Cone Randy Jackson, Inyo County Hydrologist The Inyo/Los Angeles water agreement requires that any groundwater pumping by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power be in strict compliance with the provisions of the "Hillside Decree," a 1940 court settlement that precludes LADWP from exporting groundwater from an area surrounding Bishop commonly referred to as the "Bishop Cone." To ensure that LADWP adheres to this requirement, the Inyo County Water Department and LADWP conduct an annual audit of LADWP's groundwater extraction and water uses on Los Angeles land on the Bishop Cone. According to the agreement, in any runoff year, LADWP's groundwater extraction may not exceed the amount of water used on its Bishop Cone lands. The agreement defines water uses as the quantity of water supplied to Los Angeles land on the Bishop Cone, including conveyance losses (i.e. water seepage from canals and ditches), less any return flow to the Los Angeles Aqueduct system. Uses include irrigation, stockwater, and recreation. Groundwater extraction is defined as the sum of all groundwater pumped by LADWP on the Bishop Cone plus the amount of artesian water that flowed out of uncapped wells on Los Angeles land on the Cone during the runoff year. During the 1997-1998 runoff year (the most recent year for which an audit was done), LADWP groundwater extractions consisted of 10,820 acre-feet of pumped groundwater and 4,721 acre-feet of flowing groundwater from wells adjacent to the Owens River. Uses for the same period amounted to 22,750 acre-feet. LADWP collects the pumping and surface water information at mutually agreed upon measuring stations and provides the data to the county. ICWD performs the audit and reports on the water uses and groundwater extractions on the Bishop Cone (see "Reports and Activities" on page 21).
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