Wednesday June 7, 2023
NBC News —
Some of California’s biggest lakes are making dramatic comebacks as the state’s “big melt” of snowpack reshapes the landscape in historic — and perhaps unexpected — ways.
Owens Lake, which dried up in the 1920s after its streams were diverted to quench the thirst of Los Angeles, has re-emerged. The new water on the dry lake bed threatens to damage infrastructure designed to keep down dust, a problem that emerged when the lake was drained decades ago.
The salt lake’s re-emergence could ultimately cause more air pollution and be a setback to a yearslong project in which the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has spent billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Mono Lake, beleaguered by three years of drought, is expected to rise by several feet, a welcome reprieve as the lake has struggled to reach target levels.