Filling the Salton Sea with imported water from Mexico is not a new idea. The proposal has been around in one form or another since the 1970s. While the idea has a track record of inspiring excitement, support hasn’t translated to funding.

Previous studies – including by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Salton Sea Authority – deemed it too costly to pull off. But the tides have changed. At the beginning of 2018 the Imperial Irrigation District is set to cut off flow of water from Colorado River into the Salton Sea, as required by the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement.