Created by faulty irrigation engineering in 1905, which triggered a 2-year flood from the Colorado River, the Salton Sea covers 376 square miles of a broad, desert basin and sits 227 feet below sea level. Once the flooding was controlled, this unnatural oasis, the largest lake in California, attracted opportunistic developers and a chain of resorts soon appeared along its shores. To bring in sportsmen, a variety of fish were introduced, most of which failed to thrive in this warm, shallow saline lake.
Receiving only 3 inches of precipitation each year, the Sea is replenished by agricultural and urban runoff from the Imperial, Mexicali and Coachella Valleys; unfortunately, this water brings salt and high-nitrogen waste into the Lake, gradually increasing its salinity (it is already more saline than sea water) and producing algal blooms. The latter result in huge fish kills and pose a secondary threat to the resident and migrant birds that feed on the Sea; American white pelicans and eared grebes are among the most affected species.
Current efforts to "rescue" the Salton Sea and its "vital wetlands" are being spearheaded by the Salton Sea Authority and the U.S. Department of the Interior. A variety of solutions have been proposed, including direct conduits from the Colorado River or from the Gulf of California. One wonders whether this motivation is derived from concern for the environment or concern for the developers. While an effort to eliminate pollution from the agricultural areas is laudable, it seems to me that man has already done more than enough to disrupt this desert basin. Let nature decide its fate!
