The Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), which will mandate a transfer of water from the region and the cessation of mitigation flows to the sea, is set to begin in January 2018. The future of the Salton Sea and the surrounding area depends on whether we step in and implement a long term solution or whether we leave it to run its course.
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If we don't intervene by the end of 2017, water will be diverted away from the Salton Sea, which will then shrink dramatically, due to evaporation. If this happens, the salt levels in the sea may triple over a 15 year period. This will kill the last species of fish in the sea, depriving many birds of food, and depriving visitors from the joys from fishing in the sea.
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When the Salton Sea recedes, large sections of lake bottom, called playa, will be exposed. These playa are filled with toxic chemicals and heavy metals including lead and arsenic. This toxic dust will increase the rates of bronchitis and asthma in residents of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys. This includes the towns of El Centro, Brawley, Palm Springs, La Quinta, Indian Wells, and Palm Desert. In all, more than 600,000 Californians will be directly and adversely affected.
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This has happened before in California. Owen's Lake was an inland lake, much smaller than the Salton Sea. When it dried up, acres of exposed playa created toxic dust storms. The city of Los Angeles ended up spending over 1.2 billion dollars managing the dust. If the much larger Salton Sea is allowed to get this bad, the estimated cost of dust control is many billions of dollars.
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If the sea is allowed to dry, it will cause severe economic, and public health concerns in addition to the environmental impacts. But with California in a drought and the increasing tensions between cities and agriculture over water, what can be done? There are several possibilities on the table.
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One possibility that was put forth in 2007 is called the preferred alternative (more recently the "peripheral sea"). This alternative (shown left) is one of several that include dividing the sea into several different parts. A marine sea will be maintained around the perimeter to allow fish and birds to use the area. Some hypersaline pools will be allowed to form in the center to grow brine. This plan runs into a few major problems. Firstly, it still allows large portions of the sea to become exposed playa, which will need to be controlled for dust storms. Secondly, the large barrier between the marine sea and the playa would need to be maintained, despite the area being immediately adjacent to the San Andreas fault.
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One solution to limit the exposed playa is to reclaim much of the land for agriculture or create more marshland habitat. Adding plants to the area will decrease the possibility for dust storms. Adding marshland will allow many birds to continue using the area, and reclaiming farmland will increase the area's productivity. However, both require a lot of freshwater, a hot commodity in California.
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Another possibility is to directly remove salt from the Salton Sea. Tom Sephton runs a desalination company that is making groundbreaking efforts to streamline desalination. Desalinating Salton Sea water, would produce refined salts and industrial chemicals and simultaneously provide fresh water for mitigation projects around the sea.
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Another idea that has recently resurfaced is to bring in saltwater from the Sea of Cortez or California's Pacific coast to refill the Salton Sea. The sea lies below sea level so transport of the seawater to the sea would require extensive pipelines, but would be downhill.
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The San Andres fault runs adjacent to the sea, and volcanic magma lies just below the surface in the area. This provides the best location in North America for geothermal energy production. Already, ten geothermal energy plants are distributed around the sea's southern shore. Geothermal energy is a reliable, renewable energy source that uses the heat of the Earth's magma to generate electricity. Many think that the money brought in by geothermal could reinvigorate the Salton Sea economy and raise money to restore the sea.
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Bruce Wilcox is the assistant secretary for the Salton Sea's policy as of September 2015. He is in charge of listening to all of these ideas and making recommendations to the state about the best course of action regarding the Salton Sea. Ultimately, the governor and California legislature will make the final decision about intervening in the area.
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There are two futures for us to choose from for the Salton Sea area: we could let it dry, creating a public health disaster, economic poverty, and irreversible environmental damage, or we could step in now and save this California treasure. As of now, the state government has not decided on a long term solution for the sea. A few small improvements are planned, but it's not enough to save this area. There are three things you can do to help save the Salton Sea.
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1.) Write and call the California governor and congressmen. Let them know that the health of the Salton Sea matters to you and that you want it to be fixed. The links to the web pages of the governor and congressmen of California are on the links page here.
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2.) Attend Salton Sea events to show your support. Visit the links page to find sites that list activist events. Get on a couple of event mailing lists so you don't miss any. Share the events on your facebook wall and invite your friends to come with you. Like the Salton Sea Facebook page. Attend the events that interest you and show your support.
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3.) Visit the Salton Sea area. Take the whole family on a vacation. Go camping or stay in a hotel or airbnb in the area. You can go bird watching and play bird bingo (you can find bingo boards on the links page here). Go hiking at the Salton Sea Recreation area. Visit the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge. Visit the International Banana Museum. By visiting the area, you're not only showing your support of this exciting ecosystem, you are visiting a landmark of California. The future of the Salton Sea depends on us.
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