The Past, Present, and Future The Salton Sea The Past, Present, and Future

What is the Salton Sea? A huge salt water lake located in the Salton Basin in south central California In 1901, engineers attempted to construct irrigation channels to bring Colorado River water into the region to promote agricultural progress However, inflowing water overpowered a cut engineers made in the western bank and flooded the basin By 1905 the result was the Salton Sea we see today

Aerial Views of the Salton Sea

Sunset at the Salton Sea

Value of the Sea Huge positive value to the State of California Three primary reasons Enables robust agricultural industry throughout the Imperial and Coachella Valleys Supports vast ecosystem that attracts hundreds of species of wildlife, especially birds Major recreational area – camping, boating, fishing, and bird watching

Animals of the Salton Sea Tilapia American White Pelican

Problems with the Sea Three major environmental issues face the Salton Sea Rising pollution levels – Algae causes the oxygen deprivation of fish High levels of salinity – Currently much saltier than ocean water – many fish species dying off Selenium, parasites, and bacteria – Killing animals like American White Pelicans

Solutions to the Sea For 50 years solutions have been proposed to help the Salton Sea However, not until recently has anything really been done Some solutions that have been presented: A "pipe in/pipe out" option which would bring in the lower salinity seawater from the Gulf of California or Pacific Ocean and pump out the higher salinity Salton Sea water Evaporation ponds to act as a “salt sinks” Large dam structures that would divide the sea into a marine lake portion and a brine salt sink portion Sea-level canal between the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California to import lower salinity water

The Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Plan Draft report released on October 19th, 2006 Outlines three main elements and eight alternatives for the lake’s rehabilitation Habitat Restoration Water Quality Management Air Quality Management

Conclusion After researching this important topic, I am actually quite optimistic about the future. I also believe that enough people are finally willing to face the extremely serious nature of the problems and are therefore willing to commit their efforts in order to resolving the crisis.