Full Stream Ahead for Lower Owens/Karla Saia

The Lower Owens river, little more than a dry riverbed since the advent of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, is being deliberately flooded in an effort to repair nearly 100 years of ecological damage to the area.

Steady man-made floods, referred to as “pulses,” have been in place since December, 2006. Beginning next year, the Lower Owens will be flooded each spring: the pulses are intended to wash away decades of dry vegetation and cattle waste buildup, while simultaneously carrying seeds along the course of the river to encourage growth of ecosystems along the river’s edge. The idea is to turn the now-arid plain into a riverbed and accompanying forest capable of luring tourists.

While the program, a byproduct of environmental litigation, currently has the support of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and environmentalists, fear of water shortages leaves the future of the restored river in limbo. As project consultant Mark Hill noted, “If there [is] not enough water to go around and people [are] suffering, this project [will] be the first thing to go.”

It may be 15 or 20 years before the full fruition of the flooding is realized and the river can sustain commercial and recreational enterprises such as fishing and kayaking.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-owens11mar11,1,1534895.story