The Salton Sea (San Diego, Riverside, Calexico: live, vs, beachfront)

[recycled]

I've made short duration visits to Salton Sea several times, always during winter or early spring to avoid the oppressive heat. Salton City on the west shore has a post apocalypse look to it - lots of abandoned houses, buildings, an occasional junk car. There are few people to be seen around town, yet 6 decades ago the streets were laid out for it to have many thousands of residents.

The problem is that the contaminated water is laced with agricultural runoff and chemicals, and when the water evaporates around the lakeshore, the toxic leftover along with rotting tilapia fish carcasses is in the form of dust that blows around in the wind. Not the sort of thing that anyone should breathe on an everyday basis. The dust settles everywhere and the wind blows a lot in that place.

Yes, there is cheap land to be found there, but it's cheap for a real good reason. It is surrounded by some stunning scenery. Just west is Anza Borrego Desert State Park, largest State Park in CA. Southeast is the famous sand dune area of Glamis. North is Coachella Valley with date palms and citrus groves, and the National Date Festival every year in Indio. The problem is that there is no place for all that contaminated water in the Salton Sea to go, it is an outdoor cesspool. If you stopped all the agriculture runoff in Coachella and Imperial Valley, Salton Sea would still stink and be full of salt and other minerals.

[JGC97]

Can't blame it all on the drought. Seems water politics is playing a big role in the demise of the Salton Sea.

So why is it drying up now?
Water politics get a little convoluted. The Imperial Irrigation District and California as a whole have been taking more than their share of Colorado River water for decades. A 2003 agreement will gradually reduce California's draw from the river. The Imperial Irrigation District, the largest California shareholder [of Colorado River water], agreed to sell [water] to the San Diego water district commencing in 2018. This means less water running off fields into the Salton Sea.

A persuasive case for saving the Salton Sea, California's biggest lake - LA Times

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Can't blame it all on the drought. Seems water politics is playing a big role in the demise of the Salton Sea.




A persuasive case for saving the Salton Sea, California's biggest lake - LA Times

I'm all for saving Salton Sea! Heck, maybe they can desalinated it. Lots of possibilities.

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by CamaroGuy

I'm all for saving Salton Sea! Heck, maybe they can desalinated it. Lots of possibilities.

Good point. The state needs to do something about future water sources. The population is getting larger and we can't count on an abundance of rain and snow. Personally, I'd like to see legislators scrap the bullet train and use the $$$ for water, roads and bridges in this state.

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Good point. The state needs to do something about future water sources. The population is getting larger and we can't count on an abundance of rain and snow. Personally, I'd like to see legislators scrap the bullet train and use the $$$ for water, roads and bridges in this state.

I'm definitely with ya on scrapping the BT! They can use a small portion of that money to improve and upgrade the current railroad lines we have already and just have trains running day and night.

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

The rise and fall of the place is a classic case study in human-caused ecological disasters. Stinky ghost town, anybody?

If you think that's bad, look up the Aral Sea. The Soviets bled it completely dry to water cotton fields in the Central Asian desert. If that isn't the definition of insanity, I don't know what is. Score one for totalitarianism--like the Chinese and their enormous dam projects that wipe out countless villages, mad projects get done by command. Word has it someone's trying to restore at least part of the Aral Sea. I'll believe it when I see it.

[ocean2026]

I don't know if pointing the finger at other countries makes you feel better. We have the Love Canal and many toxic and Superfund sites in our own country


I read the Feds passed something that would put some oney into the area but it would submerge some of the current sea.

[2nd trick op]

Regardless of how anybody feels about what caused the Colorado to leave its banks a century ago here are a couple of links to a story of how the incident was addressed:

http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/200...ate-president/

Epes Randolph - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A great river is like the economy itself; the schemes of politicians and developers aside, the river is going to do what nature tells it to do.

[NewbiePoster]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

I don't know if pointing the finger at other countries makes you feel better. We have the Love Canal and many toxic and Superfund sites in our own country


I read the Feds passed something that would put some oney into the area but it would submerge some of the current sea.

No, it doesn't make me feel better, that wasn't the point. Someone mentioned human-caused ecological disasters, so I started riffing.

[classic art]

"Geothermal vs the Dead Sea" The experts are claiming there is 150-270 GW of electrical energy, to be generated, by all the steam, in the area. That's a lot of $'s income and jobs created. What about giving-back, to the area, Salton Sea, that makes it possible ? Riverside Supervisor Benoit envisions "Travertine City", to be built 20 miles away from any other city, based on the economy created by geothermal energy. Of course this "must" be built in Riverside Co.(tax base). Perhaps Imperial Co. doesn't have enough electoral votes/clout, to prevent the resource stripping of fresh water, to San Diego and geothermal benefits. Islands like Kilomos of Greece and others are using geothermal steam, to desalinate saltwater. Why not Salton Sea ? It seems like a natural soulution, to a man made problem. Perhaps this steam could be used to force evaporate salt water, in isolation ponds, faster than sun alone. What if it was enough volume to cause "rain" ? Isn't rain the most efficient form, of desalination ? Perhaps this desalination also removes other harmful chemicals and minerals/ metals ? If Lockheed gets their graphene based, desalination process perfected, could be another good option. Without a reliable source of salt or fresh water, to replenish, the dead sea, truly will be, with consequences far worse than Owens lake. To be continued.