3 ms·

Salton Sea faces ecological collapse; plan to save it with ocean water rejected

19 points by Stratoscope 4y ago

xeromal 4y ago
For those unfamiliar with the Salton Sea, it was created on accident when the army corps of engineers accidentally diverted the colorado river for some time. The salton sea because a booming resort for a couple of years (months?) but eventually runoff from nearby agriculture killed the stocked fish in the lake and evaporation eventually concentrated the runoff to dangerous levels. The salton sea area is a ghost town these days and isn't worth saving. It shouldn't have been there to begin with.
- genocidicbunny 4y ago
  > It shouldn't have been there to begin with. Actually, some sort of body of water has existed in the area intermittently for quite a long time. It's a low-lying area that was once the norther end of the gulf and was cut off by the Colorado's delta. Since that's happened, the lake's been filled several times by the Colorado flooding. It just so happens to be that the last time it was filled was right before the beginning of the Spanish period in the area, hence it never really entering the mind of the Spanish or later settlers as being a lake. I think there's a bit of a lost opportunity here from being able to use some of the desalinated water for irrigation in Imperial Valley. That could help reduce some of the pressure on the Colorado and serve as a pilot project for getting more desal plants in California.
  - liketochill 4y ago
    So it is natural for it to dry up and go salty dust to blow around for a while, and not an ecological disaster caused by climate change or excessive agricultural water use? Honest question
    - genocidicbunny 4y ago
      Yes, although all those things you said could be true at the same time -- it's both natural for it to happen, but perhaps not on the same time scale which has been accelerated by agricultural uses; It's largely a closed body of water so there's not a whole lot of water flowing in to replace what gets pumped out, or to be diverted. Just because it's happened multiple times before, doesn't mean it wasn't an ecological disaster for the lake/marsh ecosystems. And by the same implication you're making, is it not natural for it to be fuller than it currently is?
    - aaron695 4y ago
  - xeromal 4y ago
    I do remember reading that so I should have specified that in its current state it shouldn't be there. Or at least we shouldn't depend on it being there
    - genocidicbunny 4y ago
      Unfortunately, people were not so forward-thinking when exploitation of the sea began, and thus we are now stuck with the situation that we do depend on it being there. The damage from it going away would be pretty major, both ecologically, but also in terms of economics for that area. It's a fairly productive area for agriculture, and a lot of that would be impacted. More than it is already.
- smt88 4y ago
  The article addresses why the Salton Sea needs to be saved: > "Without more water, [some local residents and environmentalists] argue, the lake will continue to decline, and its retreating shorelines will expose growing stretches of dry lake bed that spew hazardous dust and greenhouse gases."
boxmonster 4y ago
I'm going to be mad if California spends any of my tax dollars because a few derelicts who moved to the shore might get some unhealthy dust in their lungs. Most of them are smoking meth anyway. Move them and let it dry up. It's not an ancient lake with a robust ecosystem.

19 points by Stratoscope 4y ago

For those unfamiliar with the Salton Sea, it was created on accident when the army corps of engineers accidentally diverted the colorado river for some time. The salton sea because a booming resort for a couple of years (months?) but eventually runoff from nearby agriculture killed the stocked fish in the lake and evaporation eventually concentrated the runoff to dangerous levels. The salton sea area is a ghost town these days and isn't worth saving. It shouldn't have been there to begin with.

genocidicbunny 4y ago
> It shouldn't have been there to begin with. Actually, some sort of body of water has existed in the area intermittently for quite a long time. It's a low-lying area that was once the norther end of the gulf and was cut off by the Colorado's delta. Since that's happened, the lake's been filled several times by the Colorado flooding. It just so happens to be that the last time it was filled was right before the beginning of the Spanish period in the area, hence it never really entering the mind of the Spanish or later settlers as being a lake. I think there's a bit of a lost opportunity here from being able to use some of the desalinated water for irrigation in Imperial Valley. That could help reduce some of the pressure on the Colorado and serve as a pilot project for getting more desal plants in California.
- liketochill 4y ago
  So it is natural for it to dry up and go salty dust to blow around for a while, and not an ecological disaster caused by climate change or excessive agricultural water use? Honest question
  - genocidicbunny 4y ago
    Yes, although all those things you said could be true at the same time -- it's both natural for it to happen, but perhaps not on the same time scale which has been accelerated by agricultural uses; It's largely a closed body of water so there's not a whole lot of water flowing in to replace what gets pumped out, or to be diverted. Just because it's happened multiple times before, doesn't mean it wasn't an ecological disaster for the lake/marsh ecosystems. And by the same implication you're making, is it not natural for it to be fuller than it currently is?
  - aaron695 4y ago
- xeromal 4y ago
  I do remember reading that so I should have specified that in its current state it shouldn't be there. Or at least we shouldn't depend on it being there
  - genocidicbunny 4y ago
    Unfortunately, people were not so forward-thinking when exploitation of the sea began, and thus we are now stuck with the situation that we do depend on it being there. The damage from it going away would be pretty major, both ecologically, but also in terms of economics for that area. It's a fairly productive area for agriculture, and a lot of that would be impacted. More than it is already.
smt88 4y ago
The article addresses why the Salton Sea needs to be saved: > "Without more water, [some local residents and environmentalists] argue, the lake will continue to decline, and its retreating shorelines will expose growing stretches of dry lake bed that spew hazardous dust and greenhouse gases."

boxmonster 4y ago

I'm going to be mad if California spends any of my tax dollars because a few derelicts who moved to the shore might get some unhealthy dust in their lungs. Most of them are smoking meth anyway. Move them and let it dry up. It's not an ancient lake with a robust ecosystem.