The Salton Sea, (El Centro, Brawley, Imperial: how much, transfer, vs.)

[Curmudgeon]

Great contrast between the "glory" days and today's reality. Poignant, even.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Great contrast between the "glory" days and today's reality. Poignant, even.

truer words were never spoken, Right?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

truer words were never spoken, Right?

[Twinkle Toes]

I liked the photos. Looks like it was a fun place at one time. I go out there a couple of times a year to scope out the birds (it's less than an hour from me). The area is not nearly as nice looking as the photos make it appear. There are some scary, meth-lab folks out there and you have to know which areas to avoid.

[golgi1]

Originally Posted by MOONLIGHTING

Great movie...

[Chelito23]

From what I hear locally, the Salton Sea can't be left to dry out as would happen under natural circumstances because when all of that muck and contaminated water dries out, it will become airborn as dust in the high desert winds and basically poison the entire region...

So, the state has a realistic plan. Let the lake dry up to an extent. There is a natural ridge in the middle, it would become an isthmus dividing a north and south lake. The north lake would be somewhat freshwater as it would receive discharge from the Whitewater River (melting snow from the Sn. Bernardino Mtns).

The South Lake would be very salty and polluted and due to it's low elevation, it is naturally recharged with the water table (contaminated) due to seepage from the farming in the Imperial Valley, which in turn is highly fertilized water. This saves the north lake and allows it to provide an oasis for birds, people and fish. Not a perrfect situation, but one has to be sacrificied for the other since money is an issue.

Blaming the Lake's problems on the New River from Mexico are laguable. To anyone even remotely familiar with the area, the New River is totally dry by the time it reaches the lake. Heck, it's dry defore Brawley and even the bridge at I-8 west of El Centro. Ever since Mexicali built a water treatment plant that reuses waste water, the discharge into the river has been cut back. And therefore, the pollution has been as well. Mind you, the river was essentially made up of waste water and runoff, otherwise it was dry unless there was a rare raintstorm to temporarily fill it.

The real contaminant for the Salton Sea is the high salinity in the soils in the desert, when farmers bleech it out of their land, it seeps into the groundwater and canals that empty runoff into the lake. Then, the fertilizers do a number as well. Throw in high lake temperatures, lots of evaporation and no fresh water coming in and you have the Salton Sea.

If they get the two lakes, the North one would be the living lake while te south one would be the containmnet lake for the runoff and pollution.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by Reason42

Are you suggesting "we humans" should interfere in the natural process of increasing salinity of this particular isolated Sea?

Sure, why not? The whole thing is man made after all.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

The Salton Sea gets water from the New River, one of the worst polluted rivers in the country, its pollution originates from the maquiladoras across the border that make products for the US.

Cleaning the river should be a priority.

As for saving the Salton Sea, there isn't enough water left in the Colorado to reach the ocean most years. It would be problematic to divert water to it.

It is likely to disappear.

Which is why several people have suggested using salt water which would have to be either pumped over or run through a tunnel under the coast range. As a out flow you can make a sea level canal going out to the Gulf of California near the mouth of the Colorado River.

It's pie in the sky but it would work. Mostly it's a dream of older folks who remember the 50's & 60's when the Salton Sea was the second most visited location in the state after Yosemite but there are loads of environmentalists who want to keep the Salton Sea viable as a bird rest stop on the Pacific Flyway while locals just want anything to create jobs in the area.

It won't disappear unless they cut off the irrigation water to the farms as well as the sewage flow from Mexico entering the sea via the New River. The lake level has been stable since more or less the 1950's because of those two water inputs.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

the New River is totally dry by the time it reaches the lake.

Haven't you ever heard of subsurface seepage? It's not an accident that those trees all grow in an apparently dry river bed. The sewer water continues to flow under the sand though the speed it travels is greatly reduced.

The real contaminant for the Salton Sea is the high salinity in the soils in the desert, when farmers bleech it out of their land, it seeps into the groundwater and canals that empty runoff into the lake. Then, the fertilizers do a number as well. Throw in high lake temperatures, lots of evaporation and no fresh water coming in and you have the Salton Sea.

Yes, lack of flow out of the Salton sea does mean what ever goes in it stays in it plus the geology has a whole lot of salt pan due to it's history of being the northern part of the Gulf of California which got cut off by the prograding delta of the Colorado river. That said the pesticide run off, herbicide run off, fertilizer run off, sewer run off, and urban run off don't help at all.

[Chelito23]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

Haven't you ever heard of subsurface seepage? It's not an accident that those trees all grow in an apparently dry river bed. The sewer water continues to flow under the sand though the speed it travels is greatly reduced.

Yes, lack of flow out of the Salton sea does mean what ever goes in it stays in it plus the geology has a whole lot of salt pan due to it's history of being the northern part of the Gulf of California which got cut off by the prograding delta of the Colorado river. That said the pesticide run off, herbicide run off, fertilizer run off, sewer run off, and urban run off don't help at all.

In my post I described what subsurface seepage was and how it is responsible for the Sea's problems. I also addressed the issue that the New River isn't a "river" dumping anything into the Sea at this point. It's ALL subsurface seepage with minimal discharge, but thank you for using a word to make it clearer.

The desert sun and heat evaporate a tremendous amount of whatever liquid or conaminant is at the surface. Any liquid pollutant or contaminant that is in the ground in the Imperial, Mexicali or Coachella Valley will find it's way to the Salton Sea...and when you understand that this is a farming, industrial and residential area, it is no wonder it is so polluted.