Michael Linder

Thursday December 6. The first anniversary of the return of water to the Lower Owens River for the first time in 94 years, an amazing story of how the Lower O — as it’s known in the Valley — got its groove back after a century of fractious water wars.

I’m in the Owens Valley documenting the river’s return for KNX 1070 Newsradio, hiking the banks of the now-wet Lower Owens and talking with folks who were skeptical as hell just a year ago — now, absolutely delighted (and somewhat stunned) that the river has indeed returned.

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This was the river — what was left of it, after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power drained it dry in 1913, sending its water to the San Fernando Valley in what many considered a monumental water grab that destroyed life as Inyo County knew it — the genesis of the movie “Chinatown.”

But a minor miracle is unfolding in the Owens Valley since water returned. Fish are back, blue herons, plovers, ducks and turtles have returned. So have dragonflies and frogs — faster that many believed possible. Hear for yourself in the streaming audio report below.

Playback: Water Wars: Lower Owens River Revisited
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Everything changed in December 2006 when L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa turned a valve sending water (and, he hoped, goodwill) flowing through down the ancient riverbed.

Not that he had much choice. After years of legal wrangling, Superior Court Judge Lee Cooper ruled Los Angeles must put the river back, or lose one of two Owens aqueducts vital to L.A’s water supply — in addition to $5,000 a day in fines until the Lower Owens ran once more. The result? The photos you see here.

I was going over my notes, remembering what Villaraigosa told Owens Valley residents last December.

“By opening these gates today, we will demonstrate to the world that the great City of Los Angeles is prepared to own up to its history,” said the Mayor, “and that we can thrive in partnership and in balance with our neighbors and with the environment of the Eastern Sierra.”

Sure, sure. But surprisingly, the DWP backed up those promised with water.

Today, flows on the Lower O are averaging 40 feet per second says travel agent Keith Franson of Lone Pine.

He’s also a member of the Eastern Sierra Kayak Club which has already been trying out the “new” river. Check out his photos and an account of their Lower Owens kayaking adventures here.

Franson says cattails and tules are the first beneficiaries of the water, choking up the new stream in many places as the river figures out where, exactly, it’s going to flow. Seems to be a short-term problem, however. DWP has begun the process of clearing out the junk reeds, living up to its adaptive management mandate.

Are fish navigating the river? Yeah! Some trout have been seen and bass will likely be teeming in a year or two says Kathleen New of the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce. She’s dreaming of the day she can hold a monster bass competition, but the economic revitalization of Lone Pine and the other little towns along Highway 395 has already begun.

Check out my Water Wars page for the backstory, with video documenting the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the dustbowl Los Angeles created at Owens Dry Lake.

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