WaterDebate over California’s Salton Sea rescue plan coming to a head
The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is currently reviewing a plan to arrest the deterioration of the Salton Sea, a shallow, saline lake which runs along the state’s Imperial and Coachella valleys above the San Andreas Fault. The Salton Sea was inadvertently created by engineers with the California Development Company when they cut off a series of canals in an effort to manage river flooding between 1904 to 1906. It has since been a popular vacation destination.
The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is currently reviewing a plan to arrest the deterioration of the Salton Sea, a shallow, saline lake which runs along the state’s Imperial and Coachella valleys above the San Andreas Fault.
As Digital Journal reports, the large, manmade body of water (the largest in the state) has been in the news regularly over the past few years, mostly because of the large-scale deaths of thousands of Talapia due to agricultural run-off, mixed with the extensive saltiness of the area due to the soil near the fault.
The lake is in desperate need of restoration and for far too long, according to some, the SWRCB has been more concerned with managing the water from the nearby Colorado River and its water supply to San Diego than with investing in the cleanup of the sea. Additionally, the sea is also drying up — affecting farmers and growers in the region.
Previous to the letter sent by the Imperial Valley Irrigation District (IID), the Southern California water districts collectively signed off on the Quantification Settlement Agreement, with $300 million provided by the state for Salton Sea restoration, but the bill was tied up in multiple civil rights lawsuits regarding whether the measure had been properly reviewed by environmental officials and whether it aligned with the California Environmental Quality Act.
After years of campaigning, however, the fight to restore the Salton Sea may finally be won.
Officials from the IID wrote to the SWRCB, asking the board to help in negotiations to make sure that the state comes through with its obligation to stop the deterioration. The IID has argued that after six months of negotiations, there is “nothing happening” regarding the balancing of the restoration project with the purchase of the region’s water from the Colorado River.
“We will carefully review the document and respond as appropriate with the goal of ensuring that the [water deal] continues to provide benefits for San Diego County and the rest of California as it has done for more than a decade,” said Dan Denham, the director of the SWRCB’s Colorado River program.
As columnist Karen Graham writes for the Digital Journal, “There are a number of great ideas for restoring the lake, and they would benefit both the SWRCB and farmers in the valley.”
The Salton Sea was inadvertently created by engineers with the California Development Company when they cut off a series of canals in an effort to manage river flooding between 1904 to 1906. It has since been a popular vacation destination during the 1960s and beyond.
