Salton Sea, Ca., Erosion Control Restoration Plan Approved

California regulators approved a $383 million restoration plan for the state’s largest lake, the Salton Sea. Currently, the lake rests 234 ft below sea level and is rapidly shrinking, sustained in large part by mitigation water from the Imperial Irrigation District (IID). However, authorities from the IID recently submitted a petition to California’s State Water Resources Control Board (the Board) that asked the state to implement a Salton Sea restoration project or risk an end to the vital water sharing agreement that brings water to San Diego County.

With pressure from the IID and San Diego’s Regional Water Agency mounting, the state acted by creating a Salton Sea Task Force and developing a restoration plan. The plan involves building ponds on the lakeshore, habitat development projects, erosion control, dust management and expanded access for geothermal projects. The project outline would cover 29,800 acres of the 48,300 acres projected to dry up by 2028 if no action is taken. According to Kevin Kelley, general manager of the IID, the aim is to create a “smaller but sustainable Salton Sea.” In addition to the necessity of supporting farming irrigation, San Diego county resident water and preventing extreme dust, the lake is also vital for the ecosystem; it supports more than 420 different species of resident and migratory birds including white and brown pelicans, eared grebes, curlews, ibis, avocets and snowy plovers.

Funding remains an issue for the Salton Sea restoration project going forward. The state has allocated $80 million, but $300 million is still needed to complete the project. If a ballot measure for parks and water infrastructure passes in June, then the project will receive another $200 million for the project.