soforkbishopcrkLandscape season has mostly faded away, and the mood of homeowners in West Bishop has mostly faded too along with the water that flows down Bishop Creek from the upper lakes.

Empty ponds in front yards, as one man put it, are ugly and the state of water flow is depressing. Rocky Baker, board member of the Bishop Creek Water Association, said that practically everybody in the association has gone dry. Baker said it’s hard to get consistent flows to people when the strength of the flows is all over the place.

Baker said right now there is no immediate impact, and a lot of people are “resigned to the small amount of water available.” Baker said that right now the natural flow in Bishop Creek is 7 to 10 cubic feet per second, supplementing 10 to 12 cfs out of Lake Sabrina. That all adds up to 20 cfs at Plant 6. Baker said this is 15 to 20 cfs less than all had hoped for in terms of winter flows.

Baker described the situation as “frustrating”. He said when he and others ask people about the water, they are told, “This has never happened before.” Baker said it’s hard to get consistent flows to people when no one knows how much water will actually flow down.

Although some have engaged in finger-pointing, most realize it is the third year of drought with no real storage plan. Said Baker, “We’re trying to spread water the best we can.”

More is expected on the whole situation at a meeting of the Bishop Creek Water Association Board Tuesday November 4th at the Bishop High School Library at 7pm. Steve Stevens, President of the Water Board said that Debbie Hess and Dan Golden of Southern California Edison are expected to be available at the meeting.

Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading