It was dry, cracked earth that water once covered. It is to import water from the Sea of Cortez through a dirt canal. The forward movement has been stagnant, a point of contention for Smith's managing partner Gary Jennings.
Are you in the fixing the lake problem, getting rid of the dust problem, not letting little kids get their lungs ruined, saving property values, protecting the environment? Are you in any of those businesses? Because if you were, you would sure as hell do your job and get the f'ing lake fixed!
Today, the sea is often at the center of contentious issues involving the Colorado River. As less farm runoff flowed to the sea, more of the shoreline was exposed to the desert winds, resulting in swirling clouds of dust that fouled the air in nearby communities. The dust has been blamed for driving up asthma-related emergency room visits to twice the state average. Raul Ruiz, whose constituents live near the sea, said toxic elements such as selenium in the playa dust represent a known health risk.
State and local agencies are trying to solve the problem. Last year, the state completed acres of dust control projects and more work is underway. The Salton Sea has benefited from millions of dollars in past budgetary allocations and bond funding, but the money has never been enough to yield visible progress. The prospect of an improved financial picture is encouraging to those long-accustomed to the inertia. The largest user of Colorado River water, the district has constantly urged the state to live up to its obligation to help the sea as required by the Quantification Settlement Agreement QSA.
An intriguing possibility that could contribute to sea restoration funding has emerged because the area around the Salton Sea is rich in lithium, a metal that is a key component of electric vehicle technology.
Lithium extraction fees could be directed to Salton Sea improvement projects and greater dust control. Indeed, it appears the prospect of lithium extraction has merit. In early July, automotive giant General Motors announced a multimillion-dollar investment for a lithium project at the Salton Sea Geothermal Field near Imperial. The project could be the largest of its kind in the United States if it begins producing in as planned. State officials know they have some catching up to do.
The state aims to complete 30, acres of projects by , with at least half of those habitat projects, such as ponds and wetlands. But more expensive wetland habitat restoration is needed; the lake has long been an important feeding ground along the Pacific Flyway, a migratory bird route on the Western Seaboard.
An estimated square miles of playa will be dry and exposed to the air by the time the lake reaches a degree of equilibrium — meaning the inflow from three small waterways and agricultural runoff will maintain a smaller lake — in For a shallow body of water, the Salton Sea holds a large amount of sunk costs.
Years of studies, salaries and office supplies have been purchased, but few shovels have been put to work. The state is appropriating some funds, but the federal government has been slow to pitch in. The U. When the Natural Resources Agency is finally ready for large-scale builds, the budget could get in the way.
That money has been invested in our emergency response. Crowfoot acknowledged that the state lacks a mechanism to fund long-term monitoring and upkeep. At the beginning of , Gov. For now, the state lacks a better funding plan.
Raul Ruiz, D-Calif. A dock sits where the water from the Salton Sea used to reach. Now the Desert Shores, California, area has a stagnant pool of water left at the bottom of the former canals.
A tilapia skeleton serves as a reminder of the die-offs that have become common in the Salton Sea. As water levels have fallen, salinity levels and levels of toxins have increased. An October visit found it far from inspiring.
A flat patch of dirt covered several hundred dry acres, dotted with a few dead trees. However, no such congressional appropriation has yet been made. The Legislature has several opportunities for exercising its oversight role, monitoring progress at the Salton Sea, and determining whether legislative intervention might be needed.
If delays continue or other concerns arise, the Legislature could also request to receive intermittent or regular status updates directly from the administration. Below, we describe key issues for the Legislature to monitor in the coming months and years that will indicate whether the state is on track to manage negative impacts at the Salton Sea.
The Legislature will want to track implementation of the Plan to ensure not only that the state is meeting its annual construction goals, but—more importantly—that it is achieving its larger objectives of avoiding negative health and environmental impacts over the coming decade.
Specific questions for the Legislature to monitor in the coming months and years include:. The Legislature will want to ensure that the state does not delay such planning efforts to the point where it faces risks to public health and the environment that could have been avoided.
Key oversight questions include:. Funding and Costs. As noted earlier, how the state will fund future activities at the Salton Sea is still uncertain. Of particular concern is the lack of identified funding for ongoing operations and maintenance for the management projects the state plans to construct in the coming ten years. Questions for the Legislature to monitor over the coming months and years include:.
Skip to main content. Toggle navigation. LAO Contact. Back to the Top. Report in PDF. Introduction Although the Salton Sea is a lake located in an area of Southern California with a relatively sparse population, changing conditions in and around the Sea have statewide importance. State Water Resources Control Board Responsible for protecting water quality and water rights, including by: issuing permit for QSA water transfers, imposing certain permit conditions such as provision of mitigation water for 15 years , and requiring that the state construct specified amounts of projects at the Sea each year.
Department of Fish and Wildlife Helps design Salton Sea habitat projects, will develop and implement wildlife monitoring program for constructed habitat. Federal Bureau of Reclamation Owns significant amount of land under and around the Sea. Defining Mitigation, Management, and Restoration Projects As discussed throughout this report, a number of different agencies at both the local and state levels are undertaking projects in response to the changes occurring at the Salton Sea.
Such terms include: Mitigation Projects. As a condition of approving the QSA water transfers, state and federal regulatory agencies conducted environmental reviews and required that the participating water agencies—the Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley Water District, and San Diego County Water Authority—implement specific actions to mitigate the resulting impacts.
These included providing additional inflow water to the Sea until December , developing marsh habitat areas, and implementing a defined air quality monitoring and dust mitigation program. Restoration or Management Projects. Stakeholders commonly refer to the additional actions necessary to address the impacts of a shrinking Sea after the QSA parties have fulfilled their required mitigation expenditure levels as either restoration or management projects.
The state agreed to assume the remaining financial responsibility for addressing these potential impacts. Habitats near the Salton Sea—including along the exposed shoreline—can be designed and constructed to serve the needs of a variety of species.
Project activities will include providing a permanent source of fresh or brackish water, constructing islands for nesting grounds, and constructing berms to hold water in ponds. Most of these types of habitat projects also provide dust suppression.
Dust Suppression. A variety of projects can be implemented to minimize the amount of dust emitted from the playa.
Waterless techniques include tilling or roughening the ground surface, and applying a gravel cover. Water Delivery Infrastructure. Water management ponds and a distribution system can be constructed to bring less salty water to habitat projects.
Ponds along the edges of the lakeshore will blend Salton Sea water and agricultural return flow water, creating brackish water with a lower level of salinity. A distribution system—including outlets, pumps, channels, and pipelines—will bring agricultural return flow water from nearby rivers to water management ponds and habitat and dust suppression project areas. Proposition 50 Proposition 84 Proposition 1 Proposition 68 NRCS to state 0. Salton Sea Restoration Fund Salton Sea Authority.
Natural Resources Agency. Department of Water Resources. State Water Resources Control Board. Department of Fish and Wildlife. Bureau of Reclamation. Owns significant amount of land under and around the Sea. Acres of Newly Exposed Playa. Acres of Projects To Be Constructed.
Various Types of Habitat.
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