The Salton Sea, one of California’s
largest lakes and a safe haven for thousands of migratory birds, is
suffering a case of severe dehydration.
Water loss and
rising salinity and nutrient concentrations have endangered this
saltwater lake in southeastern California. Left untreated, the
sea’s ecosystem could collapse within the next few decades,
according to the Salton Sea Authority. The state Legislature is
currently considering a plan from the California Department of
Water Resources that would restore the wetland over the course of
75 years, at a cost of billions of dollars. But with land disputes,
uncertain funding, and no one yet designated to implement the plan,
migratory birds may have to find a new pit stop.
“The Salton Sea is a body of water that’s there, and
it’s dying,” says Michael Walker, the Salton Sea
program manager for the Bureau of Reclamation.
The Salton
Sea has a reputation for naturally disappearing. In the last 2,000
years, similar seas have formed and reformed in the Salton Trough
Basin at least three times, with several smaller lakes existing in
between. The current lake formed when the Colorado River breached
an irrigation canal in 1905. Since then, agricultural runoff has
kept the sea full and provided a mixture of nutrients that
encouraged wildlife to flourish. The lake is saltier than the
Pacific Ocean, and at 376 square miles, larger than Lake Tahoe.
This desert sea is habitat for marine fish and has become one of
the busiest stopovers for birds on the Pacific Flyway. The sea
hosts up to 90 percent of America’s white pelican population and 40
percent of the threatened Yuma clapper rail, according to the
Salton Sea Authority (see our story California
strikes a water truce).
But in these drier
times, less runoff flows into the sea, the Imperial Valley
transfers more water to San Diego and water simply evaporates,
concentrating nutrients and raising salinity. At the same time,
domestic sewage and industrial waste from places like the New River
in Mexicali is running into the sea.
“It’s a
soup of stuff that’s not really that great,” says Dale
Hoffman-Floerke, chief of the Colorado River and Salton Sea Office
for the California Department of Water Resources.
The
nitrates, phosphates and salt that formerly nourished and
fertilized this sea are now reaching concentrations that are
killing the wildlife. Diseases like avian cholera and Type C avian
botulism contributed to a massive die-off of 1,400 endangered brown
pelicans at the Salton Sea in 1996, a factor that prevented their
removal from the endangered species list. And in 1999, more than 7
million tilapia and croaker died from oxygen depletion in the lake.
California’s plan would restructure the sea, reducing its
size by nearly 50 percent and creating specialized microhabitats
for fish and birds. “We know the sea is going to shrink, and
we’re trying to make the best of the situation that’s
going to happen,” says Hoffman-Floerke.
Early
efforts would include a small, 2,000-acre saline habitat that would
act as the “seed” for further restoration and bridge
the gap between immediate restoration needs and the long-term
objective. The revamped Salton Sea would consist of a ring of
marine habitat separated by a rock barrier from a central brine, or
salt, sink. This “seawater” habitat would have salinity
levels equal to the Pacific Ocean and house marine fish that would
serve primarily as a food source for migratory birds. Salt marshes
totalling about 62,000 acres would border the lake at the north and
south ends, and act as habitat for birds, shrimp and vegetation.
Restoration during the 75 years would cost an estimated
$8.9 billion to construct and ultimately $142 million per year to
run and maintain. Possible funding sources include federal and
state grants, private-public partnerships, park user fees, and the
Salton Sea Restoration Fund, which currently holds $20 million. So
far, the California Legislature has not allocated funding, and
there is no government agency designated to manage the plan. But,
says Hoffman-Floerke, they expect decisions within the year.
Even if approved, restoration would require collaboration
among the federal, tribal and private landowners that share the
land around and under the Salton Sea. The federal government owns
90,000 acres of the sea, and the Bureau of Reclamation has proposed
its own restoration plan, according to Walker, who says it’s
currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget.
The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribe, which also
owns land under the sea, worries that shrinking sea levels could
expose carcinogenic, pollutant-laden dirt that could blow into the
air as toxic dust and become the tribe’s responsibility to clean
up. The tribe is also concerned that California’s proposed
plan would undo its ongoing effort to restore sections of wetland.
Joe Loya, tribal resources manager, fears their
suggestions have fallen on deaf ears. “We were
outnumbered,” he says. The tribe does not have enough money
to pay for pollution control of exposed shoreline, and has nowhere
to go. “We can’t purchase new tribal land,” says
Loya. “We have no other opportunity than to fight this
thing.”
Currently, tribal members are trying to
open a dialogue with the state Legislature. They want to include
protections of water levels to prevent shoreline exposure before
the plan is approved, but, says Loya, “The clock is
ticking.”
While Hoffman-Floerke acknowledges that
the proposed plan does not make everybody happy, she says, it is by
no means rigid, and will have to be “tweaked” along the
way. “We try to give something to everybody,” she says.
“It’s a beginning.”
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