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When Doug Barnum, a U.S. Geological chief scientist said, “It’s on the verge of collapse,” (Almeida) in 2007, he was referring to Salton Sea, the largest lake in California, which is located north of the Imperial Valley. It was created by accident in 1905 when the Colorado River overflowed a series of dams into the Salton Sink which is 228 feet below sea level. Since its formation, “the lake has been a Southern California oasis, rich in wildlife” (Almeida). The saline lake is a major stop on the Pacific Flyway, a route up and down the coast that is flown by more than 100,000 birds. It is also currently supporting over 400 species of birds, about fifty of which are endangered. The lake is now an average of 35 miles long by 15 miles wide, but that may not be true for much longer. Salton Sea relies on agricultural drainage, as well as runoff water from the Colorado River to survive, but with ever more increasing amounts being diverted from the river throughout California and to several other states, that supply is weakening (Almeida). In addition, water is being diverted directly from the lake to San Diego and Los Angeles. At this rate, Salton Sea could lose 60 percent of its volume in just 20 years. Around the world, fresh water is becoming an increasingly needed and valued resource. However, like all natural resources, a line must be drawn somewhere on our usage. If America continues its water use at this rate, there will not be any lakes left in the future, for human use or otherwise. It is therefore important that we take steps to protect the lakes in our country now while we can. For Salton Sea, that means first lessening the amount diverted from it, and then finding a way to reduce the ever increasing salinity while allowing more water to flow into the lake.
Although water shortage can be seen all over California, it is not unique to this region. Around the world, countries have been confronted with decreasing water supplies and the need to keep rivers and lakes full. Dalai Lake on the Dalai Lake National Reserve, the largest fresh water lake in northern China, is also rapidly shrinking due to drought and extreme overuse. The lake “has fallen about 3 meters since 2002, while its area has contracted by more than 500 square kilometers” according to “local authorities” (“North”). “‘If the lake continues to shrink, it may soon disappear” reported Liu Songtao of the Dalai Lake Natural Reserve Administration (“North”). The local government’s first plan for restoration was to pump about 1 billion cubic meters from Hailer Lake each year in Dalai Lake. “However, the project was seen as ineffective by many scientists, since Hailer Lake has also been shrinking in recent years” (“North”). The second attempt is in process right now as the government tries to set regulations on the use of the reserve’s natural resources, especially the water (“North”). Is it possible for these regulations to succeed when demand is so high? That very thing happened fourteen years ago back in California.
Mono Lake sits in the shadow of the Eastern Sierras half way up California near the Nevada border. It is an ancient saline lake home to trillions of brine shrimp and alkali flies, as well as millions of birds that stop there on their migratory route (“About”). The lake remained largely untouched until 1941 when Los Angeles began diverting water from its tributary rivers. By 1982, Mono Lake’s volume had been cut in half, exposing its famous tufa towers, structures made of limestone and calcium, while its salinity doubled. The flies began to die in droves, the algae were much less productive and the bird population was in danger, both from decreased food sources and from predators that are now able to cross to a previously isolated island which is used by the birds as a nesting ground. Also, the dried lake bottom exposed silt and other toxic chemicals to be swept into the air, making the air in the Mono Lake Basin a potential violation of the Clean Air Act (Mono). Out of this precarious situation was born the Mono Lake Committee (MLC), founded by David Gaines in 1978. The committee immediately began working on a three part plan (legal, legislative and educational) to protect and restore the Mono Lake Basin. They quickly brought the issue to the courts, charging that the diversions were a violation of the public trust doctrine, which protects lakes large enough to navigate for the use of the public. “In a 1983 precedent-setting decision, the California Supreme Court agreed with the MLC, ruling that the state has an obligation to protect places such as Mono Lake, ‘as far as feasible,’ even if this means a reconsideration of past water allocation decisions” (Mono). These suits continued until 1994, when regulations were final put on Los Angeles regarding the amount of water the city could divert from the area. In addition to protecting Mono Lake, MLC devoted much of its efforts towards helping Los Angeles acquire replacement water sources that were much less vulnerable, as well as obtain federal funding for water recycling and conservation programs. In fact, “despite growth of a million people between 1975 and 2005, LA's water usage (of about 600,000 AF/yr) had not changed” (Mono).
Today, as the Mono Lake Committee celebrates its 30th anniversary, Mono Lake is in full recovery. The bird population is thriving and the water level has risen to only eight feet below the Water Control Resource Board’s target of 6,391 feet above sea level, though how those eight feet will be gained is still a work in progress (Sahagun). Although there is still more that needs to be done to fully restore the lake to its original size and health, Mono Lake’s story is a remarkable victory. Salton Sea, on the other hand, just a few hundred miles from Mono Lake, has so far not been as fortunate. Like Mono Lake, Salton Sea is a home to a unique and significant ecosystem, and like Mono Lake fourteen years ago, its water is being excessively diverted, causing its salinity to rise dangerously. The lake is needed by many locally, including birds, fish, and farmers and is valued by many as a place for boating, fishing, camping and other recreational past times (“Salton”). If the lake is allowed to dry up, millions of fish will die, and about 50 species of endangered birds will suffer, most notably the American white pelican and the eared grebe because the lake supports 90 percent of their populations. Also, like Mono Lake, Salton Sea’s lakebed contains pollutant particles that, when blown into the air, could violate the Clean Air Act. “An estimated 134 square miles of dusty lakebed - an area five times the size of Washington, D.C. - could be exposed to desert winds by 2036 if no action is taken. Imperial County already has the highest childhood asthma hospitalization rate in the state” (Almeida). It is clear that something should be done to restore Salton Sea, but what?
Over the years, several proposals have been made. In 2003, research was done to find the best place for dikes. However, this plan, which was supported by the Salton Sea Authority and included restoring wetlands for bird, deep water for fish, healthy air quality and a way to bring in new water, was heavily scrutinized and does not appear to have gone into action (Salton). In 2007, one plan was made to reduce the lake’s size by sixty percent while putting in forty miles of rock and gravel barriers to keep it contained. This would to continue to allow it to be used by wildlife and humans, while keeping it a manageable size. In addition, irrigation tubes would be added to water the plants so that the ground would stay stable. “Officials say a combination of state and federal funds, along with local taxes, will pay for the restoration. Annual costs will start at $52 million and eventually rise to $125 million” (Almeida). This month, however, a very different idea is being discussed throughout the state. Last Thursday, December 4th, 2008, state officials from the Water Resources and Fish and Game departments gathered in Palm Desert to fill in the residents about this restoration plan. Although the Department of Fish and Game (who, incidentally, had a large hand in the Mono Lake Committee’s success) has made some progress, the work is ongoing and moving slowly (“Speak”). According to one writer for The Desert Sun, the Palm Desert local newspaper, “The plan aims to create 2,400 acres of shallow, saline ponds at the exposed playa bed where the Salton Sea is expected to recede, adding islands and rocky surfaces for the species to use (“Modest”). In 2003, Reclamation published an “Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for a shallow water habitat pilot project” that lays out all of the research done to support this new theory of shallow ponds (“Salton”). However, these ponds will mostly be three feet deep, or less, which will not be able to support any kind of ecosystem and will not add to the area. At the moment, the plan has funds from a bill that is using $47 million from Proposition 84. However, there is a $9 billion plan that will last about seventy years, waiting to be approved by legislators (“Speak”). With the plan concept and the lack of enthusiasm from legislators, it might be concluded that what these officials really want to happen is just to let the lake dry itself up.
The last proposition, which does not seem to have discussed legally yet, is building an aqueducts from the Pacific Ocean to Salton Sea. Water For All is a plan for the construction of public seawater aqueducts, pipelines and canals to distribute seawater from the ocean to arid and drought susceptible regions of the United States [such as the Salton Sink]” (“Water”). This concept proposes that the United States negotiate with Mexico to build a canal from the Gulf of California to Salton Sea, which would be large enough to hold commercial barges and which would generate new water into the lake. As grand as this sounds, there are two issues with this plan. The first is that, although there could be exchange of water between the lake and the canal, salinity would still remain very high. The second is that the construction of a commercial canal could very easily make officials lose sight of initial purpose to build it: to protect the ecosystem that has developed at the lake.
Because there are so many plans that people are attempting to put into action, it appears as though nothing is getting done. The first solution is to assign the responsibility to one group who is much invested and has Salton Sea’s best at heart. This group could them follow the Mono Lake Committee’s example and invest in a legal, legislative and educational plan to ensure that something can be done, and that it has the support to do it. The fact is that there are people out there who are willing to fight for this lake. They just need the assurance that the officials care. As Gary Shuttle, an amateur naturalist, said about Mono Lake when he was interviewed by Louis Sahagun, “‘It’s great to be on the side of creative forces generating new life instead of destroying it… It’s a fantastic example of human beings at their best.’”
Works Cited
Almeida, Christina. “California’s Salton Sea Is Shrinking.” redOrbit. 27 April, 2007. 2002-2008. redOrbit.com.
“Modest plan to aid Salton Sea moves ahead as a much larger one is stalled.” mydesert.com. The Desert Sun. 5 Dec. 2008.
Mono Lake. Mono Lake Committee. 2008.
“North China’s largest fresh water lake shrinking.” China.org.cn. China.org.cn.
Sahagun, Louis. “A Mono Lake Success Story.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. 24 July, 2008.
“Salton Sea Restoration.” Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region. U.S. Department of the Interior. Dec. 208. <>.
Salton Sea Restorations: Ten Years of Progress. Salton Sea Authority. 2006.
“Speak Up On Salton Sea.” mydesert.com. The Desert Sun. 2 Dec. 2008.
“Water.” American Energy Independence.
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