Environmental groups say action is needed this summer to save the decaying Salton Sea . The final plan to restore California's largest man-made lake is now up for debate in the state legislature. KPBS environmental reporter Ed Joyce has details.
The Salton Sea stretches across the Imperial and Riverside County line. The 365-square-mile lake is suffering from rising salinity levels, fish die-offs and a rotten egg smell caused by the saltier water, chemicals and farm runoff. The state legislature must decide whether saving the sea is worth spending nearly $9 billion.
Julia Levin is with Audubon California and a member of the Salton Sea Advisory Committee. She says restoring the sea's health should not be a question.
Levin: It's not OK for the Legislature to do nothing either because of the $9 billion price tag or because it's a very complicated situation around the Salton Sea. No action is not a reasonable option at this point. The public health risks of doing nothing, the loss of wildlife habitat are enormous.
She says two or three billion dollars could pay for the essential restoration needs. The Salton Sea is a critical stop on the Pacific Flyway for more than 400 species of migratory birds. Again, Julia Levin.
Levin: Many of those species are in jeopardy now. They would only be closer to jeopardy or extinction if we don't restore the sea. But also the surrounding communities and the surrounding farmland which is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the Imperial Valley and the Coachella Valley depend on restoration of the sea to protect air quality.
The plan includes a system to keep dirt from blowing into the air from the dry exposed parts of the lake bed. Not only is the sea getting saltier, it loses a fresh water source in ten years. That's when a federal-state agreement kicks in that transfers more than half of the Salton Sea's imported water flows to fast-growing urban areas. Ed Joyce, KPBS News.
