At the beginning of this one-hour episode of California’s Gold, Huell describes this segment as a “learning experience,” and I certainly learned a few things relating to a portion of California about which I know very little. I believe the closest I’ve ever been to the Owens Valley was a visit to Death Valley National Park — which lies to the east, across the Panamint Mountains — but I was only four or five years old at the time. This episode, dating back to sometime in 2008, clearly outlines how the demand for water in Los Angeles created what amounts to an ecological disaster for the Owens Valley. The more recent efforts to mitigate the damage and bring back some of what was previous destroyed has been a qualified success. While the restoration work has provided definite improvements, there are still no easy answers when it comes to managing a heavily engineered version of a once-natural environment.

In the first half of this program, Huell traveled to the Eastern Sierras with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) to visit Owens Lake to see their efforts to minimize the dust problem that has plagued the surrounding communities for many years.

Five years later, we go back to the same areas and see just how far along the project has come and we’ll also look at how the Owens River has been restored and brought back as a viable river.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)