User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox

(PD) Photo: U.S. EPA, Region 9
Re-vegetated section of the Owens Lake area as of early 2009.

In the past, the Owens Lake dry bed area was characterized as being the largest single source of PM₁₀ (particulate matter less than 10 microns in size) in the United States by the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD). That characterization was based on an approximate, unscientific estimate made in about 1986 that the annual PM₁₀ emissions were 300,000 tons. Subsequently, the GBUAPCD monitored and scientifically tested the PM₁₀ emissions over a long period, including daily measurements from the period of July 2000 to 2001, and determined the annual PM₁₀ emissions were only 79,000 tons for that year-long test period. That is equivalent to an average of 217 tons per day. During that test period, a single peak daily value of 7,200 tons was encountered.

During the 1980s and the early 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) had designated the Owens Lake area as having not attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM₁₀. The wind-blown sand and PM₁₀ air pollution affected approximately 40,000 residents living near Owens Lake. Regionally the blowing sand and dust also affected U.S. Forest Service employees and the U.S. Navy's air weapons station located at nearby China Lake. During those same years, nearby residents in Keeler, California reportedly were exposed to 25 unhealthful days a year while residents in the town of Ridgecrest, California experienced 10 unhealthful days per year due to the PM₁₀ air pollution. An emergency physician at the Ridgecrest Community Hospital was reported as saying "When we see the white cloud headed down through the pass, the ER and doctors' offices fill up with people who suddenly got worse. It's a pretty straightforward cause and effect.” 

In the late 1990s, after many years of litigation and negotiations that included the city of Los Angeles through its Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD), the U.S. EPA and other interested parties, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) submitted a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to the U.S. EPA. In accordance with that SIP, the LADWP was made responsible for installing and operating dust control measures on Owens Lake so as to attain the ambient air quality standards of the NAAQS. As of December 17, 2010, the air quality of the Owens Valley had not yet attained the NAAQS standards for (PM₁₀) and its non-attainment status is still designated by the EPA as being "Serious".

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As of 2006, PM₁₀ emissions and blowing dust were somewhat reduced after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power allowed water to return to small sections of the lake and tributaries. Irrigation pipes andbubblers will help water 13 1/2 miles of lake bed. Saltgrass will also be planted to help alleviate the blowing dust and associated air pollution. As of 2008, the Owens Valley Planning Area, did not attain the 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter of 10 microns or less (PM₁₀) by December 31, 2006, as mandated by the United States Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA). In 2009, 3.5 square miles of saltgrass have been planted. Drip irrigation is used to water the saltgrass. Ponded water or sheeting water is used to help keep the dust down. The area covered by water is 27 miles. The total amount of area covered by either grass or water is 30 miles out of the 100 mile lake bed. An additional 9 square miles of ponds or sheeting is planned as part of the Long-Term Habitat Management Plan. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is responsible for applying these mitigation measures which was scheduled for completion in 2010.

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Beginning in 2000, Los Angeles has shallow flooded or ponded 25 square miles of the lake bed in order to control massive dust pollution (Clean Air Act requirement). This has led to a substantial increase in the acreage of wetland habitat on Owens Lake. By 2010, Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power will add 9 square miles more of flooding and ponding. Owens Lake appears to be a major stop-over site for shorebirds and waterfowl in the southern California interior. Each spring and fall, brine flies on the lake support thousands of shorebirds, mainly Western and Least sandpipers, and thousands of ducks utilize the wetlands (especially the impoundments along the edges). An estimated 63,000 American Avocets stop at the lake during fall (Page and Ruhlen 2002). A wintering group of 300-400 Snow Geese winters here.

• http://iba.audubon.org/iba/viewSiteProfile.do?siteId=213&navSite=state

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© Photo: Andrea Jones, National Audubon Society
Owens Lake, 2010, designated as an "Important Bird Area" by theNational Audubon Society

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• California Water Plan: Update 2009 Bulletin 160-09, Volume 3, Regional Reports, pdf page 32

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The Los Angeles Owens Lake Dust Control Project currently stretches across 30 of the Lake's 100 square miles. Roughly 3.5 square miles are covered with native salt grass grown on a drip system. The remaining 27 square miles are covered with ponded water or are sheet flooded. These water-based dust control methods have re-created an Owens Lake food web for birds.

Since the initiation of shallow flooding dust control measures in 2001, the lake has become a significant migratory stopover once again. During an April 2008 "Big Day" bird counting event, 49 volunteer birders observed 112 species and a total of at least 46,650 birds--including black-bellied and snowy plovers, western and least sandpipers, long-billed curlews, and thousands of California gulls, American avocets, eared grebes, small sandpipers, and ducks, respectively--at the Owens Lake.

In fall 2008, the last phase of the dust control project began, to be completed in 2010. More than nine square miles of additional ponds and sheet flooding were built.

• Owens Lake From website of the Owens Valley Committee (OVC)

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The Los Angeles Owens Lake Dust Control Project currently stretches across 30 of the lake’s 100 square miles. Roughly 3.5 square miles are covered with native salt grass grown on a drip system, and the remaining 27 square miles are covered with ponded water or are sheet flooded. These water-based dust control methods have re-created the Owens Lake food web that once again supports thousands of birds.

Beginning in fall 2008, the last phase of the dust control project will start, with completion scheduled for 2010. More than nine square miles of additional ponds and sheet flooding will be built, thereby adding additional habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl.

Recent News From Owens Lake From the website of the Owens Valley Committee (OVC). Scroll down to pdf page 5.

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