Could ambitious plans return this ecological disaster to an oasis?
Featured image credit: Geographer
At 35 miles long and 15 miles wide, the Salton Sea is California’s largest lake. Yet, its problems are much bigger than its 343 square miles could ever hope to contain. We’re talking an environmental disaster of epic proportions, choking people and wildlife alike with its noxious fumes and sludgey, toxic waters. And the more it shrinks, the more its problems seem to grow. The state is currently immersed in an ambitious restoration project to return the Salton Sea to a viable ecosystem. But each step forward is simply a half step away from the collapsing chaos that can’t simply be written off as a lost cause.
A Nightmare Dressed Up Like a Dream
Straddling the Coachella Valley and the Imperial Valley, the Salton Sea potently proves that a picture may be worth a thousand words, but it still can’t touch an experience. That’s because the lake can be deceptively picturesque, shimmering beneath watercolor explosions of sunsets. But you can’t smell the lake in these photos: an unmistakable potpourri of rot, sulfur, and salt. And you can’t feel the immense heat radiating from its shores of crushed fish bone, dusted in the dried remains of chemical runoff.
From the brown brine of this lake, twice the salinity of the ocean, dead tree limbs reach forth, preserved in a last desperate reach for the oppressive sun as algae blooms in leaps and bounds, unnaturally spurred on by agricultural waste, belching hazardous clouds of hydrogen sulfide. It’s a nightmare dressed up like a dream. And it’s one we saw coming from a mile away.
The Numerous Deaths and Rebirths of the Salton Sea
Californians love to refer to the disastrous Salton Sea as a “manmade” lake. But that’s not exactly true. The Salton Sea has lived and died several times throughout history, dating back to ancient times, in a seemingly endless loop of filling and draining. Fed by the Colorado River, the salty lake would sometimes form in an era when it was referred to as Lake Cahuilla. Other times, it would dry out, leaving nothing behind but a desert basin.
The body of water that we know today as the Salton Sea formed in 1905, fed by the Colorado River as always. But a significant change made this resurrection of the normally impermanent lake different. Around the turn of the 20th century, an irrigation canal was installed, allowing Imperial Valley farmers to use the abundant Colorado River waters for their crops. When a rash of floods damaged the canal, a portion of the river began to drain into the Salton Basin. It took two years for the damage to be repaired. This was enough time to establish the modern incarnation of the Salton Sea.
A Golden Era Hiding Corrosion
Perhaps all would have been fine had the lake been left to dry out as nature intended. But farmers continued using Colorado River water to nurture their crops, allowing any excess to simply flow down into the growing lake. Developers capitalized on this unplanned desert oasis, constructing hotels, resorts, and vacation homes. By the middle of the century, the Salton Sea had become a tourist hotspot, frequented by Palm Springs luminaries like Frank Sinatra, Sonny Bono, Brian Wilson, and Bing Crosby.
Yet, even in those days, troubles were marinating in the depths of the Salton Sea. By the 1970s, scientists were beginning to draw attention to the plight of the lake as studies emphasized the water’s hazardous elements. The area had become something of a beacon to bird watchers at the height of the lake’s popularity as a tourist attraction. But as the salinity increased into the 1980s, the fish began to die off en masse. And the birds followed. Death became intrinsically part of the Salton Sea as carcasses of fish and fowl alike littered the shores, driving away the last straggling tourists.
The Incredible Shrinking Lake
The Salton Sea looked decidedly more apocalyptic by the ‘90s as structures decayed and art installations popped up around the Bombay Beach area, adding a wry cynicism to the abandoned resort. The nearby farmers also became more conscious of their water runoff. Thus, by 1999, the Salton Sea actually began to shrink. And while this may have been good news several decades earlier, the receding shoreline was now exposing layers of accumulated agricultural waste and decay. Algae super blooms, unnaturally stimulated by residual fertilizers and chemicals, produced a toxic atmosphere of hydrogen sulfide. Baked in the harsh desert heat, the newly exposed shores dried into noxious dust clouds that winds swept into nearby towns.
Researchers began to closely monitor the air quality around the Salton Sea, discovering a surge in asthma cases among local residents. A study conducted by the University of Southern California indicates that nearly one in four local children suffer from asthma, up to five times more than the national average. It’s not likely that the heightened concentration of nitrogen oxide and hydrogen sulfide in the air is a coincidence.
Incinerators Burning Through the Night
While human safety is indeed a major concern in regards to the Salton Sea, the state is more immediately trying to solve the ecological problems stemming from the pestilent body of water. The lake serves as a primary station on the Pacific Flyway, a leading migration route for several of the continent’s avian species. Throughout the year, over 400 bird species visit the Salton Sea, searching for refreshment before continuing their long journey.
But in 1996, the world caught a glimpse of the environmental horror brewing within the Salton Sea’s contaminated waves. A succession of storms pummeled the region following a massive algal bloom. The fish were already dying, but the storms facilitated the spread of botulism among their population. When migrating birds feasted on the dying fish, they too were ravaged by illness. Over the course of 4 months, an approximate 14,000 birds perished from this contamination. Among those numbers, a startling 10,000 were endangered brown pelicans. Faced with the epidemic, local officials relied on incinerators to burn the carcasses around the clock for weeks on end.
The Salton Sea Management Program
Cleaning up the biggest lake in California has ballooned into a decades-long mission that could eventually run up a bill of tens of billions of dollars. Of course, this is assuming the mission will ever be accomplished. Considerable strides have been made with more recent attempts, starting in 2018 with the establishment of the Salton Sea Management Program.
This 10-year plan envisioned an ambitious 30,000 acres of restored habitat along with initiatives aimed at solving the problem of toxic dust clouds blowing off the shoreline. The same year, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Band collaborated with the state to work on revitalizing the wetlands at the lake’s northern shore.
In 2021, ground broke on construction intended to restore 4,110 acres of sustainable habitat at the lake’s south side. The crew used equipment to reshape the beach, incorporating a series of pools that are being used for salinity tests.
A Solution Big Enough for the Problem
Meanwhile, attempts are underway to expand aquatic habitats to assist birds that subsist on a diet of fish. The plan to add 14,900 acres of habitat would include specially designed ponds and areas for nesting. Completion of this phase of the project is set for sometime in 2027. The Audubon Society of California is directly involved in a similar plan, installing 564 acres of wetland in the post-apocalyptic Bombay Beach area of the Salton Sea with a completion date set for 2028.
In 2020, the state also committed to a project of applying water to dry dust and soil in an attempt to eradicate the toxic dust clouds that have been blowing off the lake. This project began in 2020 and is on course to wrap up in 2025. While still executed with an environmental focus, planners hope that the project will result in improved air quality and improved health conditions for local residents.
Funding Restoration Efforts
Last year, voters passed Proposition 4, the California Climate Bond, and Senate Bill 583, the Salton Sea Conservancy, both of which will provide much-needed funding to restoration efforts. The California Climate Bond sets aside $170 million specifically for the restoration of the Salton Sea, along with $10 million to establish the Salton Sea Conservancy.
Additional funding has been pledged to the tune of $60 million by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Reclamation is throwing in an additional $250 million. Under the guidance of the Salton Sea Conservancy, funding will be focused on restoring native flora and natural habitats while addressing issues of water quality. In the meantime, the Army Corps of Engineers is embroiled in an extensive study of the Salton Sea and its manifold challenges.
Some Mistakes Are Bigger Than Others
Despite its elevation at 226 feet below sea level, the Salton Sea’s restoration can feel like climbing a mountain peak, only to find more peak over every plateau. But the seemingly endless project has one thing going for it: there doesn’t seem to be any other option. Giving up means committing to a colossal, poisonous swamp festering in the middle of the desert. And with its role as a migratory hub, its negative impact continues to reach far beyond its shores. Some mistakes follow you. And the Salton Sea is a 35-mile by 15-mile mistake that isn’t going anywhere on its own.
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