California’s largest lake is slipping away amid an epic drought

The Washington Post ^ | May 28, 2015 | Todd C. Frankel

[CedarDave]

The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California, 360 square miles of unlikely liquid pooled in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Now the sea is slipping away. The Salton Sea needs more water — but so does just about every other place in California. And what is happening here perfectly illustrates the fight over water in the West, where epic drought has revived decades-old battles and the simple solutions have all been tried.

Allowing the Salton Sea to shrink unabated would be catastrophic, experts say. Dried lake bed, called playa, is lighter and flies farther than ordinary soil. Choking clouds of particulate matter driven by powerful desert winds could seed health problems for 650,000 people as far away as Los Angeles. The effects would be even worse along the lake, where communities already fail federal air-quality standards and suffer the highest asthma rates in the state.

But the fate of the Salton Sea depends on a complicated series of deals that pit farms against cities, water rights against water needs, old ways of life against the new. The drought has forced a reconsideration of these agreements, with each side jealously guarding its claim to what little water is left.

[CedarDave]

The Salton Sea is literally a cesspool. Below sea level, it was created in 1905 when the Colorado River, then free flowing except for small diversion dams, broke through one of them and all water was diverted into the then dry lake bed. It took two years to stop the flow and since then irrigation water drainage, crop water seepage and sewage (mainly from Mexico) has continued to flow into the lake. In the meantime, to conserve water, agricultural practices have changed, canals lined and water consumption decreased. Less water flows into the lake, evaporation reduces the volume and increasing salinity reduces the number of species who have made the manmade lake their home. With increasing salinity comes increasing toxicity of chemicals used in farming which also threaten life there. Finally, those dry salt deposits containing elements like arsenic and selenium are exposed to wind erosion and spread as minute dust particles.

Various schemes to divert more fresh water to the lake all involve unpopular tradeoffs with users who already face water restrictions due to the ongoing drought. The most viable solution in my opinion (other than a no action alternative) is one proposed that would build a large seawater pipeline or canal from the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) to the lake. That uninterruptible source of water could also be used as a source for a desalination plant which would supplement fresh water and whose effluent, if not too salty, might actually improve or stabilize salinity in the existing water. Though the $500 million cost appears lower than other solutions, state and federal officials dismiss it as impractical.

[Dr. Thorne]

All those Mexicans use a lot of water, Governor Moonbeam.

[MrB]

So THAT’s where all this rain is coming from in Kansas!

[Cowboy Bob]

That is correct. I blame the illegals.

[CivilWarBrewing]

What a great way to foment Agenda 21. This is an engineered crisis!

[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]

Since it is salt water, I don’t think it will impact our shortage of freshwater.

[Michael.SF.]

who have made the manmade lake their home.

Can you really say it was "man made" when, as you stated, the Colorado river switched course or broke through a diversion dam?

[relictele]

I can only imagine the number of people, leftists all, employed by the California DNR or whatever they call themselves pulling down exorbitant wages and gold-plated pensions. I’m sure every one of them is committed to preserving and protecting natural resources for the enjoyment of all, biodiversity, blah blah blahbity blah.

DNR Lefty 1: ‘We must preserve these minnows.’
DNR Lefty 2: ‘Good idea. Let’s stop people from using water.’
DNR Lefty 1: ‘But now we have a drought. Shouldn’t we experts be planning and implementing ways of obtaining more water and/or directing it where it’s needed?’
DNR Lefty 2: ‘Yes, that would help these minnows. But some people, possibly Republicans, might take longer showers if we don’t keep up with the rationing and scare-mongering. We’ve already got them convinced of the big lie that functional toilet facilities can exist without the use of water’
DNR Lefty 1: ‘True. What about these minnows then?’
DNR Lefty 2: ‘They will have to be sacrificed so we can blame their deaths on conservatives.’

[Buckeye McFrog]

The Salton Sea has been drying up for decades.
Has the author ever heard of the Bonneville Salt Flats?

Sometimes lakes dry-up. It’s a normal part of nature.
Happening to Lake Baikal in Russia too.

[Red Badger]

So, if it’s not a natural lake, and was created by accident, then why save it at all?..................

[Sasparilla]

California has been making plans to pipe water from Lake Michigan to there. Lake Michigan bordering states say never.

[Zhang Fei]

Though the $500 million cost appears lower than other solutions, state and federal officials dismiss it as impractical.

But multi-billion dollar bullet trains that serve a tiny number of passengers are practical.

[Army Air Corps]

And the Aral Sea.

[JSDude1]

I think a large Canal would be the best bet, then let the valley flood until it matches the Pacific, if engineered correctly this could be an actual inland sea/port which would be used by California (and Mexico-a small sliver being on their Mexicali).

It could be used for 1) Inland Naval Base (if a canal were created wide enough for naval vessels and commercial container craft, among others such as luxury yachts and fishing vessels.

2) Desalization plants could be constructed along part of the shore.

3) Recreactional fishing/watersports in this new “sea”.

4) New shoreline for luxury homes

5) New shoreline for waterfoul and other natural habitat.

Of course this would have to be created in partnership with Mexico as it would require a new treaty.

[Zathras]

Yep it was created by California and messed up by California.
Its now a toxic sewer that California needs to fix.
Not the rest of the USA

[Dogbert41]

Once-upon-a-time the Governor would have called upon the citizens of his state to fast and pray to God for forgiveness and rain. Apparently, Moonbeam is above that. So are so many of our fellow Americans.

[grumpygresh]

Feds can use it for an internment camp when the water dries up.

[SpaceBar]

Reading news about California has become like watching an old Laurel and Hardy comedy short where they can’t even carry a 2x4 through a door without someone getting hit on the head. From the Golden State to the Slapstick State.

[tanknetter]

You save it so that the massive amount of HAZMAT it contains (see post above) doesn’t become airborne when it dries out.

[rellimpank]

--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea --The modern sea was accidentally created by the engineers of the California Development Company in 1905. In an effort to increase water flow into the area for farming, irrigation canals were dug from the Colorado River into the valley. Due to fears of silt buildup, a cut was made in the bank of the Colorado River to further increase the water flow. The resulting outflow overwhelmed the engineered canal, and the river flowed into the Salton Basin for two years, filling the historic dry lake bed and creating the modern sea, before repairs were completed--

--E.H. Harriman and his railroad were instrumental in hauling rock to the breach to stop the flooding--for an excellent description of this, consult a book entitled "Colossus" ,the subject of which is the history of the Colorado River and the Hoover Dam---

http://www.amazon.com/Colossus-Turbulent-Thrilling-Building-Hoover/dp/141653217X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432924005&sr=1-1&keywords=colussus