Saving the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea has had many different names since being discovered by the Spanish in Southern California; the Colorado Desert, Valley of the Ancient Lake, and eventually became associated with the name Salton. Salt mining in the area traces back to 1815 and became a large scale operation feeding the Los Angeles area by 1884. This enormous basin was never actually a "sea" however in 1905 the swelling Colorado River overflowed the Imperial Dyke and for two years fed water into the basin, filling it into a salty inland sea.

Currently, the Salton Sea is a birdwatching paradise, and has been home to over 400 species of birds. It supports a high population of the American White Pelican and is a resting area for many birds on the Pacific Flyway. The Salton Sea is susceptible to bacteria and pesticide influxes from the New River (of Mexico) and due to having no outlet and high salinity, the Sea acts like a cesspool for fish and aviary diseases and epidemics. Since 1980, there have been numerous fish die-offs and aviary versions of botulism, cholera, and Newcastle Disease have all been discovered in the Sea. Currently, Tilapia are the only fish that live in the water which has a salinity of 4.4% (almost 25% more than sea waters 3.5%).

There have been hundreds of proposed plans for saving the marine life and ecosystem in the Salton Sea and in 2000 the Salton Sea Authority proposed a plan to save the Sea using a combination of Dams throughout the Sea to partition the salt areas from the freshwater areas. This was met by opposition due to the lack of stable land from the San Andreas Fault and the partitioning of the ecosystems.

Finally a California State Government Ruling (official player), involved with the local government and geological researchers developed a plan that would create a large salt basin in 60% of the current Sea and would retain the rest for ecological and environmental purposes. Had the Salton Sea been left as is, more outbreaks of avian viruses could be possible and further environmental destruction. Some of the plans though were just too expensive , including the possibility of piping fresh seawater into the basin and saline water out. This is the right decision considering the government of California was put in a position where no action causes the end of the Salton Sea and too much action might cause the same thing. It is an example of the government deciding to spend the money (9 Billion dollars to save the Sea) that is taxpayers dollars to save an ecological and environmental landmark that humans helped create. It might not be the best solution but with the information that we have now, and influence from both official and unofficial actors, a decision was made and implemented (starting in the year 2011). Also, the government has used this to its advantage adding a saline habitat that will be a major tourist attraction and will generate revenue for the state.