In a mere seven weeks, hundreds of thousands of California residents will face a major deadline affecting the health of their families and their communities. On Dec. 31, water deliveries that have been staving off ecological disaster at the Salton Sea for 15 years will come to a halt, leaving an uncertain future for the entire region. Here’s how we got here: In 2003, California struck a deal to divert a large amount of water from Imperial Valley farms to cities.