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Mono Lake Level
And Tributary Stream Flows
MONO BASIN STREAM FLOWS
MONO LAKE LEVEL
| Date |
Level (ft) |
Difference (ft) |
| target |
6391 |
9.1 to go |
| 3/4/2010 |
6381.947 |
current level |
| 2/6/2010 |
6381.707 |
-0.24 |
| 3/1/2009 |
6382.4 |
+0.5 |
| 10/1/1994 |
6374.6 |
- 7.3 |
| 10/1/1941 |
6417 |
+35 |
| 10/1/1919 |
6427 |
+45 |
LINKS TO
monobasinresearch.org:
Monthly Levels since 1979
Yearly Levels since 1850
Water Board Decision Background
The lake level gauge is a staff gauge located near Old Marina that is demarcated in tenths and hundredths of a foot. DWP surveys the elevation of the gauge each time it puts one in. The Mono Lake Committee and the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve try to read it at least once a month. DWP reads it weekly.
Current gauges:
- 9/23/09 gauge 1R adjusted and surveyed about a mile east of Old Marina. Zero elevation is 6379.997 feet above sea level USGS.
Former gauges:
- Installed July 13, 1998 (1M), zero elevation of 6,383.82 (in 2007 revised to 6383.76) USGS
- Installed June 25, 2001 (1N), zero elevation of 6382.01 USGS (lake elev. Dec. 2005) Note: Gauge 1N read 0.07 feet too low prior to its January 2007 removal.
- Installed August 12, 2002 (1P), zero elevation of 6380.37 USGS Note: Discontinued in late January 2007, perhaps read 0.1 feet too high immediately prior. As of August 2009 reads about 0.5 feet too high.
- Old Marina Gauge installed March 14, 2007, resurveyed 8/1/07, zero elevation 6382.09 USGS. Mono Lake dropped below zero on this gauge in August 2009 and the staff plate was removed in September.
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Mono Lake is on the Rise |
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"Trigger" or "Target" Level:
6391'
Mono Lake is currently in a long-term transition to higher lake levels. 6391' is a target level that triggers changes in water export rules. Models indicate it could take over 20 years to reach this level. If it is not achieved by 2014, the Water Board will hold a hearing to consider the condition of Mono Lake and determine if further license revisions are appropriate.
Future Management Level:
6392'
Once the 6391' target is achieved, the water export rules change in order to maintain a long-term average lake elevation—or "management level"—of 6392'. It is anticipated that this level will maintain a healthy lake ecosystem and provide protection for the basin's resources such as the quality of the air.
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