The Walker River Basin covers an area of approximately 4,050 square miles and encompasses the hydrologic area flowing from its headwaters at the crest of the Sierra Nevada near Bridgeport, California to Walker Lake, near Hawthorne, Nevada. The East and West forks of the Walker River flow through Mono County, California, and Douglas, Lyon, and Mineral counties, Nevada. Water within the Walker River Basin has been adjudicated and is administered by the U.S. Board of Water Commissioners through a Chief Deputy Federal Water Commissioner. Thus, diverse interests and uses for the water supply are represented by the many stakeholders within the Basin.
Walker Lake is a terminal lake, meaning that there is no outflow.
Its unique desert-lake ecosystem is in jeopardy because the surface water resources in the Walker River Basin have been fully appropriated. Often there is not enough water to meet current demands and allow adequate inflow to sustain Walker Lake's health. Severe drought conditions between 1987 and 1994 catalyzed stakeholders to discuss ways to allow more water to reach Walker Lake because many felt it crucial to improve the health of Walker Lake and preserve its unique environmental and economic values. These changes have also threatened the population of native Lahontan cutthroat trout. Presently, the conditions of the lake are such that the trout must be restocked from a hatchery each year.