Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

April reading of Mono Lake’s level with DWP

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

As is tradition in early April, this morning staff from the Mono Lake Committee and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) met at Mono Lake’s shore to read the lake level gauge at the start of this new runoff year.

Mono Lake Committee and DWP staff determine Mono Lake’s level together each year in early April. Photo by Elin Ljung.

The lake’s surface was a bit unsettled due to a spring rainstorm passing through, but Maureen (Committee) and Jason (DWP) watched the fluctuations carefully and settled on an official lake level reading of 6382.07 feet above sea level.

Jason from DWP and Maureen from the Committee scrutinize the lake level gauge. Photo by Elin Ljung.

When Mono Lake stands between 6380 and 6391 feet on April 1st, DWP can export up to 16,000 acre-feet of water for the year, according to the rules set out in the State Water Board’s Decision 1631 from 1994. When the lake stands below 6380 feet on April 1st, DWP can export up to 4,500 acre-feet in a year, and when the lake level is forecast to go below 6377 feet, no exports are allowed.

DWP and Committee staff conferred and arrived at an official lake level of 6382.07 feet above sea level. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Clouds from a passing spring rainstorm made it a beautiful morning at the lake. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Lisa (MLC), Paul (DWP), Jason (DWP), Jennifer (DWP), Bartshe (MLC), and Maureen (MLC) with the lake level gauge in the background. Photo by Elin Ljung.