Salton Sea and the New Normal

Last month, Salton Sea Sense had the opportunity to host and hear from Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate at the Pacific Institute. The Pacific Institute aims to provide science-based leadership and outreach to inform public water policy, and Cohen has been working specifically on the Salton Sea since 1998. He recently published an excellent Institute blog post on the current “fortunes and prospects” at the Sea, which is available here.

In his talk at UC Riverside, Cohen outlined some of the challenges that continue to face the Salton Sea. One of those challenges is the perception of Sea as an “artificial” ecosystem, which we have previously blogged about. Cohen pointed out that the whole of the State of California’s water is part of a managed system that includes man-made aqueducts, reservoirs and pumps. The Salton Sea is an essential part of this system as one of the last remaining aquatic habitat options in the southwestern United States for birds on the Pacific Flyway.

Natural or Not?

Leer en español

“Why don’t we just let the Salton Sea dry up and return to its natural state?”

“The California Development Company flooded it. Why don’t they pay to fix it?”

Have you heard any of these questions, or even thought them yourself? You are not alone. Many people who begin to learn about the Salton Sea arrive at these inquisitive conclusions shortly after learning about the “Great Diversion” of 1905. But let us revisit together some historical facts and observations, and ask ourselves, “Is the Salton Sea natural or not?”

Salton Sea: May the (Task) Force be with you

Leer en español

The Salton Sea Task Force convened in Sacramento on Tuesday to assess the progress of the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP), which has declared specific goals for habitat and shoreline restoration. The task force was led by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and heard from four agencies with updates: the CA Natural Resources Agency, the Colorado River Regional Water Quality Control Board, the CA Air Resources Board, and the CA Energy Commission. All gave presentations ranging from fresh perspectives on older, well-known data, to hot off the press developments within their agencies.

Saving the Sea

The world is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of the Salton Sea and its impact on humans and to the environment, but what can be done to save the Salton Sea? The attempts to investigate and reduce the salinity in the Sea began in the 1960s [1]. However, the increased agricultural development and subsequent irrigation run-off into the Sea resulted in elevation of the water surface level and overlooking the need to control the salinity. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s when the Federal and State agencies started looking into the Sea again. In 1992, the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act authorized the United States Department of the Interior to conduct research to reduce and control the salinity of the Salton Sea [2]. Soon after, multiple agencies including Salton Sea Authority (SSA) started working with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other federal and state entities, which has led to numerous proposed alternative solutions to protect the Sea.