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In light of the crisis at Oroville Dam earlier this year, state regulators have begun ordering up-close inspections of aging dams throughout California. In a letter received by the San Luis Obispo County’s Public Works department on June 12, the chief of California’s Division of Safety of Dams ordered the county’s flood-control district to complete a “comprehensive condition assessment” of the Lopez Dam’s spillway. “We completed a reconnaissance-level assessment of the spillway at Lopez Dam and have noted that structure may have potential geologic, structural, or performance issues that could jeopardize its ability to safely pass a flood event,” the letter stated.

A decade ago, Guy McCaskie would stand on the shore of the Salton Sea and marvel at the vast masses of birds that congregated on the water and flew overhead. Nowadays he looks out over the lake and is saddened by how few birds he sees. Most of the American white pelicans have disappeared. So have most of the double-crested cormorants and eared grebes. McCaskie said these types of birds are vanishing because they can no longer find enough fish or other food in the lake.

The Salton Sea is a disaster in slow motion. For more than a century, California’s largest lake has been sustained by Colorado River water, which irrigates Imperial Valley farms and drains into the lake. But the Salton Sea will start shrinking rapidly at the end of this year, when increasing amounts of river water will be diverted from farms to cities. As the lake’s shorelines retreat, thousands of tons of lung-damaging dust are expected to blow from the exposed lakebed, polluting the Imperial Valley’s already-dirty air.

Area Assemblyman James Gallagher called it frustrating, misprioritization and a “dereliction of duty.” Gallagher and state Sen. Jim Nielsen last week were unable to persuade a legislative committee to allocate $100 million for levee repairs. During the legislative budget subcommittee’s meeting, the state’s chief deputy director for the Department of Finance noted that a “compromise” was made in instead providing Proposition 1 funds. But Gallagher said that “compromise” won’t do much to repair damaged levees all over the state, including one in Yuba City. Rather, the $111 million portion of the budget is earmarked for capital projects and environmental mitigation.

Near the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea, hot steam bubbles up from the earth and gurgles out of mud volcanos, rising into the air. This active geothermal zone runs along the San Andreas Fault, where geologic forces allow the Earth’s natural heat to rise near the surface, creating one of the world’s most powerful geothermal hot spots. The energy reservoir extends beneath the Salton Sea, where underwater vents release steam that rises in boiling circles of bubbles on the lake’s surface.