Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Under the leadership of Governor Edmund G Brown Jr., the 2014 California Water Action Plan set forth a vision for California water management that balances statew

Under the leadership of Governor Edmund G Brown Jr., the 2014 California Water Action Plan set forth a vision for California water management that balances statewide water supply security with the protection of public, economic and ecological health. The Salton Sea offers a unique opportunity to preserve these values by leveraging a convergence of support from federal, state, and local stakeholders for a smaller and sustainable sea achieved through the projects outlined in this plan. The Salton Sea is California’s largest lake. Thirty-five miles long and 15 miles wide, the desert lake extends from the Coachella Valley into the Imperial Valley. Though saltier than the ocean, the Sea supports an abundance of fish, a food source for millions of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway. Managing the Sea’s natural, agricultural, andmunicipal water inflows to maximize bird and fish habitat and minimize fine-particle air pollution will allow California to protect regional health, ecological wealth and a stable water supply. The Salton Sea formed in the Salton Trough in Imperial and Riverside counties. Much of the trough is below sea level and has a long history of periodic inundation from the shifting delta of the Colorado River or from infrequent storm events. The last Colorado River inundation of the area occurred in 1905 when an irrigation canal inlet gate failed and flooded much of the area. Since then, lake inflows have been primarily from agricultural activities in the area. Inflows from the New and Alamo rivers are primarily farm return flow water, although there is some inflow from Mexico, particularly during large precipitation events. Over the last several decades, water levels at the Salton Sea have declined and salinity concentrations have increased due to climate fluctuations, agricultural conservation measures, cropping practices and reduced inflows from Mexico. Recent water transfers from the Imperial Valley have further accelerated the rate of lake elevation decline and have increased the rate of salinity concentration. Declining lake levels threaten important bird habitat and pose public health risk due to particulate air pollution. Over the last 40 years numerous ideas and plans have been proposed by various entities to restore the Salton Sea. None have been implemented for a variety of reasons, including lack of a shared vision, funding constraints, and reduced inflows. In 2015, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. formed the Salton Sea Task Force with principle staff and members of various state agencies to identify short- and medium- term goals to respond to air quality and ecological threats at the Salton Sea. The Task Force developed actions for the Salton Sea that included: Develop and implement the Salton Sea Management Program through departments within the California Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agencies Improve public outreach and local partnerships Accelerate project implementation and delivery Meet a short-term goal of 9,000 acres to 12,000 acres of dust suppression and habitat projects Establish a medium-term goal of 18,000 acres to 25,000 acres of dust suppression and habitat projects. The State’s Salton Sea Management Plan (SSMP) has several phases of development to protect air quality and ecosystem values at the Salton Sea. This draft technical memorandum prepared by the State of California outlines the SSMP’s first, 10-year phase (Phase I Plan). It will guide State and federal actions to meet the commitments outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed on August 31, 2016, and amended on January 18, 2017 by the Department of Interior (DOI) and the California Natural Resource Agency (CNRA). The MOU, among other things, identified a goal of developing projects to protect or improve air quality, wildlife habitat, and water quality as necessary to minimize human health and ecosystem impact at the Salton Sea in the mid-term. While guided by the MOU, the SSMP is a longer-term process that has been developed and will be implemented by the State of California. This first phase of development has been planned to expedite construction of habitat and to suppress dust on areas of playa that have been or will be exposed at the Salton Sea by 2028. The Phase I Plan outlines the process for developing additional management measurements for the Salton Sea that will be implemented in later phases. The Phase I Plan also addresses the requirements of Assembly Bill 1095 (Garcia 2015) by including those projects deemed “shovel-ready projects” and including estimates of cost. Those projects include: Water backbone infrastructure, which will provide conveyance of river and Salton Sea water to air quality and habitat projects. SSMP air quality and habitat projects associated with the water backbone infrastructure The CNRA’s Phase I Species Conservation Habitat Project (saline impoundments along the southern shore to support fish and wildlife) Red Hill Bay Project, an effort of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Imperial Irrigation District to restore habitat on the southeastern shore. Torres-Martinez Wetland project, an effort of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians to build shallow wetlands along the northern edge of the Salton Sea. The Phase I Plan considers the implications of the 17-year drought on the Colorado River. The drought may force reductions of Colorado River water to the Lower Basin States, which in turn could impact inflows to the Salton Sea. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, seven Colorado River basin states and key principals of several water management agencies have been developing a Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) that includes implemented and proposed actions to address the potential water shortage. The Department of Interior Order No. 3344 - Actions to Address Effects of Historic Drought on Colorado River Water Supplies (DOI, January18, 2017) further outlines the details of the DCP. One component of the Phase I Plan is to evaluate the current hydrologic modeling for the Salton Sea and to include some of the proposed actions in the model to evaluate their potential impact to Salton Sea inflows.   As the Air Quality Planning and Implementation section of this document notes, the air quality mitigation will consist of measures to keep exposed playa wet or vegetated. A series of Best Available Control Measures (BACM) are being evaluated by the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) Water Transfer mitigation program, which was created under a 2003 agricultural-to-urban water transfer agreement involving the State of California, the Imperial Irrigation District, Coachella Valley Water District, and the San Diego County Water Authority. The work of determining these best strategies will be paid for by the QSA Joint Powers Authority. The Phase I Plan involves coordination among Imperial Irrigation District, Imperial County Air Pollution Control District, South Coast Air Quality Management District and other agencies to ensure that the latest information about how lakebed exposure may affect air quality is included in the development of BACM pilot projects. In order to provide ample time for public input into this plan, the SSMP will schedule several regional workshops to solicit input from community members and stakeholders as well as provide necessary time for general public comment. This process will be announced via the program’s website. Associated documents: Salton Sea Management Program Conceptual Project Implementation and Cost Estimates to Meet State Board Targets, 4/27/2018 Appendix 1. Figures Appendix 2. Cost Projections Appendix 3. Ten-Year Phase I Plan Schedule Plan Spanish Translation: Programa de Gestión de Salton Sea Fase I: Plan de 10 Años *Plan appendices index from California Natural Resources Agency.

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 1. Figures

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 2. Cost Projections

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Salton Sea Management Program Phase I: 10-Year Plan Appendix 3. Plan Schedule

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | March 1st, 2017

Salton Sea Management Program Water Demand and Supply Study

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | September 21st, 2017

Salton Sea Monitoring Implementation Program (MIP) Annual Work Plan 2024

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | February 29th, 2024

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are implemen

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) are implementing the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) to address air quality and ecological threats at the Salton Sea. The SSMP has a plan for action over the 10-year period from 2018 to 2028 (Phase 1: 10-Year Plan), which aims to improve conditions around the Salton Sea by constructing projects that create habitat and reduce dust from the exposed lakebed on 30,000 acres. Since the state is not a significant landowner in the area, collaboration with land-owning entities is essential and a top priority for the SSMP. The SSMP team also recognizes the crucial role of partnerships in meeting restoration goals through collecting data, facilitating project implementation, and helping obtain funding sources. The Salton Sea Monitoring Implementation Plan (MIP) is a regional-scale monitoring plan for the Salton Sea ecosystem (CNRA 2022). The MIP, which was developed with input from implementing partners (agencies, non-governmental activities to measure conditions of water, air quality, land cover, biological resources, and socioeconomics. The MIP prioritized indicators and metrics and summarized methods and sampling regimes. These indicators were prioritized based on their informativeness and relationship to key resources and drivers of the Salton Sea ecosystem, feasibility of measurement, and relevance for management actions. Some indicators were recommended only for focused study to inform a specific management-articulated information need or specifically identified data gap.

Salton Sea Restoration Fund The State Has Not Fully Funded a Restoration Plan and the State’s Future Mitigation Costs Are Uncertain

California State Auditor | November 1st, 2013

The Salton Sea, located in Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California, is the State’s largest inland lake. The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when Colorado

The Salton Sea, located in Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California, is the State’s largest inland lake. The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when Colorado River floodwater breached an irrigation canal being constructed in the Imperial Valley; it has since been primarily fed by agricultural drain water. According to experts, the Salton Sea serves as an important fishery and wildlife habitat and is a major stopping point for migratory birds along the Pacific flyway. However, beginning in 2003, a series of agreements know collectively as the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), between the State, local water agencies, and other entities have required, among other things, a water transfer that has reduced the amount of water that flows into the Salton Sea (water transfer). To mitigate the effects of the water transfer, the QSA requires one of the local water agencies that is a party to the agreement to provide additional water (mitigation water) to the Salton Sea for 15 years, from 2003 to 2017. Experts anticipate that when the Salton Sea stops receiving this mitigation water, the water transfer will cause profound negative environmental impacts, including the loss of fishery habitat, exposure of soils to wind erosion, and declines in bird species because of the loss of food.

Salton Sea Study Status Report

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 9th, 2003

The Salton Sea is located in a closed basin in Riverside and Imperial Counties in southern California, south of Indio and north of El Centro. The Sea is situated

The Salton Sea is located in a closed basin in Riverside and Imperial Counties in southern California, south of Indio and north of El Centro. The Sea is situated in a closed basin, more than 200 feet below sea level and has no natural outlet. Although lakes have existed in this basin in the past, the current body of water formed in 1905 when a levee break along the Colorado River caused flows from the Colorado River to enter the basin for about 18 months. Since 1905, the Sea has fluctuated in size with varying inflow, and it recently has had a surface area of 365 square miles. A balance between inflowing water and evaporation sustains the Sea. With no outlet, any salts that are dissolved in the inflow are trapped, although some do precipitate. Salt concentrations are currently about 44,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L), or about 25 percent higher than ocean water. Salinity will continue to rise under current conditions. It is highly likely that in the future, the inflow to the Sea will be less than it has been in the past. A reduction in inflow would cause the Sea to shrink and cause salinity to rise faster than it would have without a reduction in inflow. A gradual increase in salinity and its consequences was recognized soon after the Sea was formed. Formulation of salinity control measures was reported as early as the mid-1950s. Since then, many alternatives have been proposed and analyzed. The alternatives presented in this report were developed to address the goals contained in the Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998. The Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to study options for managing the salinity and elevation of the Sea in order to preserve fish and wildlife health and enhance opportunities for recreation use and economic development while continuing the Sea’s use as a reservoir for irrigation drainage. The Act required that certain options be analyzed and required consideration of reduced inflows down to 800,000 acre-feet or less per year. Consideration of any option that included importation of water from the Colorado River was prohibited. Reporting requirements of the Act were met on January 27, 2000, when Secretary Babbit forwarded a draft EIS/EIR and several other reports to Congress. Since then, analyses have continued on options presented in those reports and on new options. The development and transmission of this report is not required by law. This report provides a summary of the current status of the evaluation of alternatives currently under consideration. The primary purpose of the planning study was to evaluate possible methods of controlling the salinity and elevation of the Sea. The study also includes elements that address other issues at the Sea, such as high levels of nutrients. Fourteen alternatives providing a range of salinity and elevation control benefits and costs are presented in this report. For ease of presentation and understanding, alternatives were divided into the following categories: Salinity control alternatives Salinity and elevation control alternatives Causeway/barrier alternatives (the terms causeway and barrier are interchangeable in this report) Specialized diking alternatives Methods to control salinity and elevation include pumping water out of the Sea with discharge to some remote location; pumping water out of the Sea with discharge to local desalting plants or evaporation ponds, possibly in combination with enhanced evaporation systems that would require disposal of salt residues near or within the Sea; and dividing the Sea through the construction of dikes so that one portion serves to concentrate and isolate salts from the remainder of the Sea. Each alternative is discussed briefly below. The present value cost estimates for each alternative are also mentioned below. Present value cost includes the initial construction cost plus funds that would need to be set aside today to fund operation, maintenance, and energy over a 30-year period. This status report makes no recommendation regarding future action relating to restoration of the Salton Sea. In fact, given that all of the alternatives identified to date are extremely expensive, it is difficult, if not impossible, to make any recommendation without a decision by Congress regarding the relative importance of the Sea in light of other pressing national priorities.

Science and Decision Making: Water Management and Tree‐Ring Data in the Western United States

American Water Resources Association (AWRA) | October 5th, 2009

Growing populations, limited resources, and sustained drought are placing increased pressure on already over‐allocated water supplies in the western United States, prom

Growing populations, limited resources, and sustained drought are placing increased pressure on already over‐allocated water supplies in the western United States, prompting some water managers to seek out and utilize new forms of climate data in their planning efforts. One source of information that is now being considered by water resource management is extended hydrologic records from tree‐ring data. Scientists with the Western Water Assessment (WWA) have been providing reconstructions of streamflow (i.e., paleoclimate data) to water managers in Colorado and other western states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming), and presenting technical workshops explaining the applications of tree‐ring data for water management for the past eight years. Little is known, however, about what has resulted from these engagements between scientists and water managers. Using in‐depth interviews and a survey questionnaire, we attempt to address this lack of information by examining the outcomes of the interactions between WWA scientists and western water managers to better understand how paleoclimate data has been translated to water resource management. This assessment includes an analysis of what prompts water managers to seek out tree‐ring data, how paleoclimate data are utilized by water managers in both quantitative and qualitative ways, and how tree‐ring data are interpreted in the context of organization mandates and histories. We situate this study within a framework that examines the coproduction of science and policy, where scientists and resource managers collectively define and examine research and planning needs, the activities of which are embedded within wider social and political contexts. These findings have broader applications for understanding science‐policy interactions related to climate and climate change in resource management, and point to the potential benefits of reflexive interactions of scientists and decision makers.

Science be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River

University of Arizona Press | November 26th, 2019

Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States.  It seems decep

Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States.  It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.