FEB 23 THE SALTON SEA CRISIS IS REAL

FEB 23 THE SALTON SEA CRISIS IS REAL

Over the President's Day weekend, the staff of the DUNER BLOG attended Modernism Week in relaxing Palm Springs. On the way there, we passed a billboard on the I-10 freeway. It featured a child with a respirator.  Ominous words accompany the picture: The Salton Sea Crisis Is Real. Naturally, this captured our attention, as many of our staff was unaware of the body of water...much less the crisis. Let's get started.

In short, California's largest lake is a mistake. In the year 1900, the state development company focused on the low-lying region near the Coachella Valley called the Salton Sink. They dug large irrigation ditches and fed them with canals with fresh Colorado River water. At first, the program was a success and farms popped up in the barren soil. Things changed in 1905. That's when enormous storms covered the Rocky Mountains in snow. This led to swelling of the Colorado River in the spring. The tiny Alamo Canal was no match for this and it burst its head-gates, sending a torrent of water into California.

State officials and the Southern Pacific Railway tried to stop the flooding. They dumped tons of dirt into the Imperial Canal, but it was to no avail. Nothing could slow down Mother Nature. For the next two years, a sixty-mile long man-made river brought water to the area. With no outlet, a lake quickly began growing. Two towns, Salton and Torres, were swallowed up. A railway was moved. Then the Army Corps finally managed to divert the river. It took two years, and by this time the lake measured 40 miles long and 25 miles wide.

Twenty years later, the Hoover Dam opened, meaning the Colorado River will never flood again. But in Imperial County, it was too late. The new, enormous lake was now shrinking. To maintain the coastline, a canal brought in enough water each year. But in 2003, a thirsty neighbor negotiated to divert some of the flow. In January of this year, that amount increased as San Diego's population keeps growing. With a century of run off from nearby farms, the newly exposed lake bed is a toxic mix of dust and pesticides. It's harmful: Kids in neighboring areas have twice the number of asthma attacks than the rest of California.

Although the original error occurred 114 years ago, the miscalculations of a handful of engineers still wrecks havoc on the region. Migratory birds are vanishing. These include the eared grebes, white pelicans and the enormous double-crested cormorants. With no outlet, the Salton Sea stays true to its name and keeps getting saltier. It's now more salty than the Pacific and the few species of fish that can survive are also disappearing. I guess the billboard is correct: This crisis is REAL!