Sink or swim time for Salton Sea? Momentum builds for pricey lake restoration

Show Caption

The long-delayed restoration of the Salton Sea, the large, ultra-briny California lake almost universally described as an “environmental disaster,’’ could be starting to finally get its sea legs.

But don’t jump in and hold your breath yet.

The state’s biggest lake, nearly twice the size of the majestic and immensely popular Lake Tahoe, has languished for decades as increased salinity, a sinking waterline and a foul smell have robbed it of past glory. Area residents have been exposed to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases from harmful toxins on dust blown by wind off the growing lake bed.

Previous efforts to resurrect what was once a playground to Hollywood celebrities about 50 miles southeast of Palm Springs have fallen short, typically for lack of funding.

Now a combination of factors, including the presence of vast deposits of lithium about a mile under the Salton Sea’s bottom, might provide enough impetus for a major reclamation project that is certain to cost several billions of dollars.

Last fall Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill creating a conservancy to manage efforts to rehabilitate the lake and minimize its health impacts, and the state followed by assigning $480 million – more than half of it from the federal Inflation Reduction Act – to the project.

Manuel Pastor, a sociology professor who directs the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California and coauthored a book published last year about the Salton Sea, called that a “down payment’’ on the much-larger investment required.

'A signal that the governor is serious'

“This conservancy is going to both create an opportunity for money to be spent and also provide plans as the money comes online,’’ Pastor said. “I think it’s extraordinarily important. It’s a signal that the governor is serious.’’

That could be a boon for a body of water frequently called an accident, because its current version was created in 1905 when a canal breach allowed millions of gallons of Colorado River water to spill out for almost two years, filling a desert basin.

The lake is officially 35 miles long by 15 miles wide with a surface area of 343 square miles, but that has been shrinking as water sources have diminished. A deal to continue supplying fresh water, after inflows from the Colorado River were diverted to urban areas, expired at the end of 2017. In addition, the agricultural runoff that nourished the lake has dwindled over the years as farmers irrigated more efficiently.

With less water in a desert climate, the lake’s salinity has surged to almost double the ratio of ocean water while oxygen levels decreased, making it virtually impossible for fish to survive and killing off what was once a thriving sports fishing industry. An array of bird species still make the lake a regular stop on the Pacific Flyway migration route, but the number of fish-eating birds has declined.

And the rotten-egg stench from the hydrogen sulfide emitted by the lake’s decomposing organic matter, an odor particularly noticeable in the summer, has gotten no better.

“As the Sea continues to decline we can expect more big stinks,’’ the Salton Sea Authority said on its website, referencing the notorious such event of September 2012.

Hoping for work and recreation opportunities

Pastor said residents around the lake in the Imperial and Coachella valleys, largely agricultural communities that are more than 80% Latino, hope a major restoration enterprise will lead to more work and recreation opportunities while also mitigating the health effects of the lake’s degradation.

A USC study last October revealed 24% of children in the area have asthma, a rate three to five times higher than in the rest of the country.

But it’s an open question whether the federal funding will dry out, much like the lake, or possibly be clawed back amid President Donald Trump’s drive to slash the size of government.

“Everyone is on pins and needles with this new administration and all the funding cutbacks they have in place,’’ Pastor said. “That and the way they don’t seem to be paying much attention to environmental concerns, and the ways in which at least the president himself has been disparaging of California.’’

That may be where the lithium enters the picture. The mineral is a crucial component for batteries used in cellphones, electric cars and solar energy storage, and the Salton Sea deposits are considered among the world’s biggest.

Enough lithium to power 375 million electric cars

The Energy Department has estimated the amount of lithium in the lake’s geothermal brine – which can also serve to generate power – could fuel more than 375 million electric vehicles.

The northern part of Imperial County where the lake is located has been dubbed “Lithium Valley,’’ or as Newsom called it, “the Saudi Arabia of lithium.’’ And the principal owner of that underwater land is the federal government.

It’s perhaps no wonder that when the sfgate.com website asked the Trump administration about its commitment to the funds assigned to the Salton Sea revitalization under former President Joe Biden, Bureau of Reclamation Regional Communications Chief Michelle Helms said via email:

“Reclamation has announced and obligated $250 million for the Salton Sea out of the IRA. To date, $35 million has been expended. Reclamation is working with the State of California to fund projects as they are initiated.”

Several previously funded projects are currently underway in the area, some trying to suppress dust, improve air quality and create bird habitat, part of the 10-year, $200 million Salton Sea Management Program.

Estimated cost was $8.9 billion − a decade ago

That clearly won’t be enough. The cost of the lake’s stabilization and restoration was estimated at $8.9 billion – in 2015.

Gregory Pierce, director of the UCLA Water Resources Group, said with the collaboration of the right stakeholders, nearly half a billion dollars already pledged and the extra influx of investment the lithium figures to draw, the lake’s revitalization could finally get off the ground.

But he warned about the need to have mechanisms in place so the locals actually benefit from the enterprise instead of being left with an even more degraded lake after the lithium is extracted.

“I think the lithium money there does actually increase the odds of salvageability just because there are so many resources potentially to invest,’’ Pierce said, while adding, “It has been repeated over and over, extraction not leading to local return or benefits for local communities the way it should.’’