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Home > Search > Site Map > California > Structures and Monuments in Which California Stone was Used > Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument

Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument

Located on State Route 136 north of Keeler & south of Swansea, Inyo County, California

Manual Castro, the manager of F. W. Aggregates (owner and operator of the nearby dolomite quarries once known as the Inyo Marble Quarries) donated large pieces of dolomite quarried from the F. W. Aggregates quarries for use as local monuments.  (The following photographs were taken by Peggy B. Perazzo September 2010.  More information and photographs of the Inyo Marble quarries and present-day F. W. Aggregates dolomite quarries are available in the “Inyo Dolomite/Marble Company Quarries” in the Inyo County section of our web site.) You will find a transcription of the plaque on the monument at the bottom of this page. Peggy B. Perazzo

Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument, Inyo Co., CA Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument, Inyo Co., CA Plaque on the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument, Inyo Co., CA

 

The Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of locally quarried dolomite

 
Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA

 

Close-up photographs of the monument

 
Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA

 

Close-up photographs of the monument

 
Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA Closeup of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument of dolomite, Inyo Co., CA

 

Close-up photographs of the monument

 
View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA

 

View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the monument (left to right)

 
View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA View northwest across Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the Owens Lake monument, Inyo Co., CA

Looking across Owens Lake

View of Owens Valley & Owens Lake from the monument

Looking northwest from the monument
View of some of the hills east of the monument, Inyo Co., CA View of some of the hills east of the monument, Inyo Co., CA

View of some of the hills east of the monument (left to right)

 
View of some of the hills east of the monument, Inyo Co., CA View of some of the hills east of the monument, Inyo Co., CA

View of some of the hills east of the monument (left to right)

 

The inscription on the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program Monument plaque reads:

Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program

“Owens Lake was once over 300 feet deep and part of a large ancient freshwater lake.  As the climate changed over centuries, the lake began to dry up leaving behind concentrated minerals and salts.  By 1905, diversion of water by farmers in the Owens Valley, coupled with drought in the region, had shrunk the lake even further to approximately 80% of what it was in the mid 1800s.  In 1913, the City of Los Angeles purchased most of the water rights in the Owens Valley and completed the first Los Angeles Aqueduct to divert much of the remaining water in the Owens River south to the City of Los Angeles.  As a result, the lakebed has been essentially dry since 1920.

“Dust blowing from the dry lakebed became a problem for the communities surrounding Owens Lake, and its presence eventually constituted a violation of the Federal air quality dust standard.  In July of 1998, the City of Los Angeles and the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District entered into a historic agreement committing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to mitigate the dust conditions.

“This marker signifies the first phase of a dust control program – Shallow flooding.  This involves delivering water to emissive areas of the lakebed until the soil becomes thoroughly wet to the surface and is unable to emit dust.

“This program is a part of a series of actions in which the City of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power have taken positive steps to protect the environment.

“Dated November 17, 2001 –“Los Angeles DWP Department of Water & Power”

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