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A Dry Desert With Its History Surrounded By Stories Of Water

/in , /by /The Desert Sunby Tracy Conrad

Despite its designation as a desert, the Coachella Valley is blessed with water. The very names associated with the most prominent places and businesses in the desert, such as the Oasis Hotel, Mineral Springs Hotel, Deep Well, Indian Wells, Palm Springs, Snow Creek, and Tahquitz River Estates, all conjure up pretty images of water. But the early story of desert water is more utilitarian than picturesque: it quite literally can be seen as a history of ditches.

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OPINION: Valley Voice: Why This Drought Contingency Plan Is No Friend To The Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Norma Sierra Galindo

The March 26 opinion piece by Tom Buschatzke and 13 other Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan proponents to persuade the public that the DCP is good for the Salton Sea would have been better served – and made more believable – by a show of good faith rather than a show of force. People who know the Salton Sea as an actual place, rather than a place on a map, can tell the difference. That Buschatzke and his fellow river contractors would be defiantly for a plan that turns the Salton Sea into its first casualty is sad but unsurprising. For them, the Salton Sea was the final impediment on the road to the DCP, not the finish line.

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Some Backers And Foes Of Bill Seeking IID Remake Have Financial Connections

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

A battle over a controversial state bill that seeks to remake the Imperial Irrigation District board is exposing political connections and payments to key players on both sides. Elected officials, business and labor groups are staking out sides on Assembly Bill 854, which would wrest control of the water and power district from Imperial County where it’s headquartered and shift it north to Riverside County, home to a majority of its electricity customers.

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OPINION: Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Is Necessary Now

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Tom Buschatzke

Last week, the seven Colorado River basin states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — sent a letter to Congress calling for federal legislation to authorize the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Congressional House and Senate committees are holding hearings on the plan. It’s a historic moment for a river that supports two countries, seven states, 40 million people, 5.5 million acres of agricultural land, 22 federally recognized tribes, 11 national parks, seven wildlife refuges, four national recreation areas, and seven endangered species.

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Residents See Zero Progress At Salton Sea, But New Officials Say It’s Time To Turn The Page

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

Another group of top state officials visited the Salton Sea this week to promise that this time, things will be different and progress will be made to restore the fast-drying water body. The California Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday convened a required annual check-in meeting with a variety of state and local agencies on how and whether efforts to protect public health and restore wildlife habitat are progressing. They met at the lake’s North Shore Yacht Club community center to hear updates and to try to rally residents and experts. Some responded with guarded optimism, seeing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of top officials who are familiar with the area as a possible sign of long-awaited change.

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OPINION: Trump Administration Colorado River Drought Moves Threaten Life, Health At The Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Barbara Boxer

As a former member of the U.S. Senate and chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, I was proud to help lead the charge to save the Salton Sea. In December, I was excited to learn that Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris and Congressman Raul Ruiz secured Farm Bill legislation that provides a pathway to federal Salton Sea funding. The federal government owns almost half of the Salton Sea, but has not lived up to its responsibility to stop the public health and environmental disaster unfolding there. This Farm Bill victory allows for a large, stable source of federal funding for the sea.

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OPINION: Now Is California’s Chance To Save The Salton Sea

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Frank Ruiz

Spectacular landscapes are part of California’s natural identity. I recently led a group on a tour of the Salton Sea and it prompted me to think that we should consider the sea one of these treasures. There’s nothing in California like it. We visited during a rare rainstorm, so there were waves on the lake and dramatic gray skies. Nonetheless, the landscape was full of life. Waterfowl are making a comeback on the lake, and we saw plenty of Redhead ducks and Canvasbacks in places like Salt Creek.

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Western Drought Deal Is A Go, Without IID And As Salton Sea Clean-Up Remains Stalled

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

It’s done. The Colorado River Board of California voted 8-1-1 Monday to sign on to a multi-state drought contingency plan, which, somewhat ironically, might not be needed for two years because of an exceptionally wet winter. The process was fractious until the very end, with blistering rebukes from the river’s largest water user, and charges that state and federal laws were possibly being violated to cross the finish line.

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Top Fed Backs IID Push For Salton Sea Farm Bill Clean-Up Funds, With No Linkage To Drought Plan

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

As promised, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman on Friday wrote a letter of support to the Imperial Irrigation District, backing efforts to win substantial Farm Bill funds to restore the dwindling Salton Sea. But she stopped short of linking a pledge of funds to the seven-state Colorado River drought package that she is pushing to complete in two weeks. Instead, she said adopting the drought plan was the single biggest step to both preserving drinking water across the West and to preserving the Salton Sea.

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Feds Say Salton Sea Won’t Be Adversely Impacted By Multi-State Drought Plan; IID Can Join When It Chooses

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Janet Wilson

Days after Imperial Irrigation District officials said there had been a breakthrough in their negotiations with federal officials to commit to the restoration of the Salton Sea in a mammoth Colorado River drought plan, a top federal official offered a different assessment. “California has already found a path that ensures that the Salton Sea is not impacted by the (drought contingency plan) and we hope to be able to find a path to work as partners with IID to approve the DCP as soon as possible, while we continue to be a strong partner on the Salton Sea,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said in a written statement.

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