Troubled Waters: The Salton Sea Project Part 3 – A Lake Languished
Along the dusty shoreline of the Salton Sea, you could blink and you’d miss it: the Ski Inn, the only bar around the east side of the lake for 40 miles.
Posts
Rep. Ruiz Sends Letters to IID & FWS Regarding the Red Hill Project at the Salton Sea
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Chelsea Campos /News Channel 3by Sarah-Jayne SimonCongressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. tells News Channel 3 exclusively that his office has sent letters to Fish and Wildlife Service and Imperial Irrigation District in regards to the Red Hill Bay Project at the Salton Sea.
The joint effort between IID and FWS broke ground in 2015, but has yet to be completed.
It was designed to create over 600 acres of shallow saline ponds by mixing water from the Salton Sea and the Alamo River. These new ponds would faciliate a new habitat for birds, while also preventing dust from emerging into the air.
County Officials Applaud New Salton Sea Funding
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Chelsea Campos /Imperial Valley Pressby Michael MareshNewly announced state funding for the Salton Sea is expected to maximize habitat outcomes and provide immediate economic relief to the community.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $5.1 billion water infrastructure, drought response and climate resilience proposal, which he announced Monday as part of his $100 billion “California Comeback Plan,” includes $220 million for the Salton Sea.
At Tuesday’s Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, District 1 Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar wanted to know what is meant by providing immediate economic relief to the community and how this would occur. He also asked if the $220 million was part of the master plan and whether the funds would be used for restoration purposes.
Toxic Algae Outbreak Prompts Advisory at Salton Sea
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Chelsea Campos /NBC Palm SpringsThe California State Water Resources Control Board Friday urged people and their pets to avoid the water in the Salton Sea due to a toxic algae outbreak.
Officials said that patches of toxic cyanobacteria have been discovered at numerous sites in the sea, and a dog recently died after swimming in the water.
Salton Sea Dust, Air Quality to Get Closer Look in California
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. DooleyCalifornia’s shrinking Salton Sea is getting a closer look scientifically with the state, local air districts, and community groups examining air, water, and even dust from the parched shoreline where water was once plentiful.
California Spends $12.8M More on the Salton Sea, Finally Appoints Analyst to Study Seawater Importation
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark OlaldeCalifornia remains far behind its targets for addressing exposed playa around the Salton Sea, according to data released in the 2021 Salton Sea Management Program annual report. But state officials expressed optimism in a public workshop that they are finally beginning to catch up to those goals.
The state was supposed to implement dust suppression projects or build wetlands habitat across 3,500 acres of exposed playa by the end of 2020 to tamp down dust that’s imbued with a century’s worth of salts, pesticides and other agricultural runoff. Only 755 acres around the mouth of the New River had been completed in that timeframe, although 2020 represented the first year that any state-led dust mitigation projects was finished at the lake.
Dust Up Over Salton Sea Project at Red Hill Bay
/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KPBS San Diegoby Erik AndersonWhen Imperial County officials broke ground on the Red Hill Bay project in 2015, it was heralded as the beginning of a new era around the Salton Sea. State officials were beginning a long-awaited restoration project that was projected to be done in two years. The 400-acre site on the eastern edge of California’s largest lake was underwater not too long ago, but water transfer and more efficient irrigation in the valley have cut the flow of water into the lake.
Western States Chart Diverging Paths as Water Shortages Loom
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP Newsby Sophia Eppolito and Felicia FonsecaAs persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago.
But not Utah.
Republican lawmakers approved an entity that could push for more of Utah’s share of water as seven Western states prepare to negotiate how to sustain a river serving 40 million people. Critics say the legislation, which the governor still must sign, could strengthen Utah’s effort to complete a billion-dollar pipeline from a dwindling reservoir that’s a key indicator of the river’s health.
State Water Project Takes Aim at Restoring Salton Sea, Alleviating Health Risks
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /KPBS-FM/TVby Erik AndersonCalifornia is spending more than $200 million to keep an unfolding ecological crisis from getting worse. The state wants to stabilize habitat along the southern bank of the Salton Sea, the state’s largest lake.
That is good news for nearby residents concerned about their health, but the restoration could also affect everyone who draws water from the Colorado River.
Will California’s Desert be Transformed Into Lithium Valley?
/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /CalMattersby Julie CartCalifornia’s desert is littered with remnants of broken dreams — hidden ghost towns, abandoned mines and rusty remains of someone’s Big Idea. But nothing looms larger on an abandoned landscape than the Salton Sea, which languishes in an overlooked corner of the state.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
