Authorities say thousands of migrating birds have died at California’s Salton Sea this month from avian cholera. The California Department of Fish and Game says ducks, gulls and other birds were found dead at the south end of the state’s largest lake between Jan. 8 and last Thursday. Testing showed signs of avian cholera, an infectious bacterial disease. It’s spread through direct contact or from contaminated food or water.
With the passage of the Federal Farm Bill by both the Senate and House (December 12 and 13 respectively) and hopefully a signature of support to come from the White House soon, another opportunity has arisen to help fund restoration efforts at the Salton Sea. After the failure of Prop. 3 during the November election, which amounts to a $200 million loss for the sea, a spark of positive funding news is good to hear. While there is no guarantee of funding for the sea in the Farm Bill (nor is the sea even mentioned) there is a provision for environmental projects for which the sea could qualify for funding.
The Salton Sea has been an anomaly since its very formation. Created when the entire Colorado River flowed unchecked into the Salton Sink for two years beginning in 1905, the modern-day Salton Sea is a changed ecosystem that supports introduced fish and a major stop on the Pacific Migratory Flyway. Flows into the sea have declined over time, leaving higher concentrations of various contaminants. Coupled with evaporation, the result is a shrinking, increasingly saline lake. Previously submerged lake bed — known as playa — is being exposed, creating dust that can be hazardous as it dries and becomes airborne.
Riverside County is moving forward with a Salton Sea restoration plan that officials say could generate more than $1 billion in tax revenue, which would help fund construction of a permanent, horseshoe-shaped lake at the north end of the dying sea. The board of supervisors voted Tuesday to create an enhanced infrastructure financing district, or EIFD, that encompasses Mecca, North Shore, Oasis, Thermal and other unincorporated communities near the Salton Sea. If voters in the newly created district approve the plan, the county would issue bonds to fund construction of a so-called North Lake.
When information about a recent toxic algal bloom in the Salton Sea came to the attention of the Imperial County Public Health Department, it did so second-hand, through Supervisor Ryan Kelley. Kelley, whose District 4 includes the Salton Sea, had to hear about the water conditions at the sea second-hand as well, from residents in the West Shores area who got their information from the state Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Imperial County officials are still warning residents to not go near the Salton Sea after dangerous bacteria was found there. The Imperial County Public Health Department announced last week that cyanobacteria were detected in a water test that was conducted earlier this month. Public health officials said residents are not in danger as long as they don’t drink the water. “So there’s not any evidence that anyone has been harmed. The levels that had been detected, although they alert us to pay attention, they are not levels that are expected to be harmful,” said Dr. Stephen Munday, Imperial County Public Health Officer.
The Imperial County Public Health Department announced Friday that cyanotoxins were found in the Salton Sea. In recent months, low levels of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, were detected blooming along the northern shore of the Salton Sea in Riverside County. Water testing conducted by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board have confirmed the presence of three cyanotoxins: Anatoxin-a, Saxitoxin and Microcystin at the Desert Shores Harbor of the Salton Sea.
Plans to incorporate the Salton Sea into a proposed Southwest Pacific Water Plan are at least as old as this newspaper. WDR first mentioned such a plan in its second issue in February 1965, and three years later, noted, “The Salton Sea is getting too salty; it faces certain death or the oblivion of a great salt lake or dead sea – unless another Bureau of Reclamation study to preserve it as a live sea can reverse present orders.”
Once considered pipe dreams, the concept of saving the Salton Sea by tapping ocean water from Mexico, to keep the accidental salt lake from drying up, will get an official consideration at two meetings in the desert this week. The California Natural Resources Agency will look at three competing proposals at a hearing in Coachella Monday, and in El Centro on Thursday.
Once considered pipe dreams, the concept of saving the Salton Sea by tapping ocean water from Mexico, to keep the accidental salt lake from drying up, will get an official consideration at two meetings in the desert this week. The California Natural Resources Agency will look at three competing proposals at a hearing in Coachella Monday evening, and in El Centro on Thursday. One group of engineers proposes a pumping plant in Mexico to lift the water 100 feet, 130 miles of canals, a four-mile pipe under the U.S.-Mexico border, and a power plant to generate electricity as the water falls 225 feet down to the Salton Sea.
