The Salton Sea, just an hour drive east of Palm Springs, California. At 35 miles long and 15 miles wide, the Salton Sea is California’s largest lake. Yet, its problems are much bigger than its 343 square miles could ever hope to contain. We’re talking an environmental disaster of epic proportions, choking people and wildlife alike with its noxious fumes and sludgy, toxic waters. And the more it shrinks, the more its problems seem to grow. The state is currently immersed in an ambitious restoration project to return the Salton Sea to a viable ecosystem. But each step forward is simply a half step away from the collapsing chaos that can’t simply be written off as a lost cause.
Californians love to refer to the disastrous Salton Sea as a “manmade” lake. But that’s not exactly true. The Salton Sea has lived and died several times throughout history, dating back to ancient times, in a seemingly endless loop of filling and draining. Fed by the Colorado River, the salty lake would sometimes form in an era when it was referred to as Lake Cahuilla. Other times, it would dry out, leaving nothing behind but a desert basin.
The body of water that we know today as the Salton Sea formed in 1905, fed by the Colorado River as always. But a significant change made this resurrection of the normally impermanent lake different. Around the turn of the 20th century, an irrigation canal was installed, allowing Imperial Valley farmers to use the abundant Colorado River waters for their crops. When a rash of floods damaged the canal, a portion of the river began to drain into the Salton Basin. It took two years for the damage to be repaired. This was enough time to establish the modern incarnation of the Salton Sea.
Cleaning up the biggest lake in California has ballooned into a decades-long mission that could eventually run up a bill of tens of billions of dollars. Of course, this is assuming the mission will ever be accomplished. Considerable strides have been made with more recent attempts, starting in 2018 with the establishment of the Salton Sea management program.https://saltonsea.ca.gov/
This 10-year plan envisioned an ambitious 30,000 acres of restored habitat along with initiatives aimed at solving the problem of toxic dust clouds blowing off the shoreline. The same year, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Band collaborated with the state to work on revitalizing the wetlands at the lake’s northern shore. In 2021, ground broke on construction intended to restore 4,110 acres of sustainable habitat at the lake’s south side. The crew used equipment to reshape the beach, incorporating a series of pools that are being used for salinity tests.
Meanwhile, attempts are underway to expand aquatic habitats to assist birds that subsist on a diet of fish. The plan to add 14,900 acres of habitat would include specially designed ponds and areas for nesting. Completion of this phase of the project is set for sometime in 2027. The Audubon Society of California is directly involved in a similar plan, installing 564 acres of wetland in the post-apocalyptic Bombay Beach area of the Salton Sea with a completion date set for 2028.
In 2020, the state also committed to a project of applying water to dry dust and soil in an attempt to eradicate the toxic dust clouds that have been blowing off the lake. This project began in 2020 and is on course to wrap up in 2025. While still executed with an environmental focus, planners hope that the project will result in improved air quality and improved health conditions for local residents.
Last year, voters passed Proposition 4 https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/4/ the California Climate Bond, and Senate Bill 583, the Salton Sea Conservancy, both of which will provide much-needed funding to restoration efforts. The California Climate Bond sets aside $170 million specifically for the restoration of the Salton Sea, along with $10 million to establish the Salton Sea Conservancy.
Additional funding has been pledged to the tune of $60 million by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation is throwing in an additional $250 million. Under the guidance of the Salton Sea Conservancy, funding will be focused on restoring native flora and natural habitats while addressing issues of water quality. In the meantime, the Army Corps of Engineers is embroiled in an extensive study of the Salton Sea and its manifold challenges.
As always, I stand by to offer any information/ideas/perspectives to you, your friends and your family as needed in and around the Palm Springs area
Photo credit: Dicklyon, Good Thing Factory, www.pixel.la