Hazard: The Future of the Salton Sea With No Restoration Project

Pacific Institute | May 1st, 2006

The Salton Sea lies on the brink of catastrophic change. The amount of water flowing into the Sea in the next twenty years will decrease by more than 40%, causing

The Salton Sea lies on the brink of catastrophic change. The amount of water flowing into the Sea in the next twenty years will decrease by more than 40%, causing its surface elevation to drop by more than 20 feet, rapidly shrinking its volume by more than 60%, tripling its salinity, and exposing more than 100 square miles of dusty lakebed to the desert’s blowing winds. These changes will cause four major impacts: Human health in the Imperial and Coachella valleys – currently home to more than 400,000 people and growing quickly – will be harmed by the estimated 33% increase in the amount of fine windblown dust in the basin. The Imperial Valley already suffers from the highest childhood asthma hospitalization rate in the state; the growing number of retirees living in both valleys are especially susceptible to poor air quality. Air quality in these two valleys – which already fails to meet state and federal air quality standards – would get much worse, increasing the cost of bringing these areas into compliance. Air quality-related litigation and state liability will increase. California has assumed ultimate responsibility for managing only those lands exposed due to a recent set of water transfers, constituting about half of the estimated 134 square miles exposed in 30 years. Responsibility for managing any dust blowing off the other 60 or so square miles will rest with the individual property owner. However, there is no clear way to determine which lands will be exposed due to the water transfers and which will be exposed due to other actions. Total air quality management costs at Owens Lake have exceeded $400 million. Costs at the Salton Sea could be higher. Many – if not most – of the hundreds of thousands of birds that currently use the Sea will lose their roosting and breeding habitats and their sources of food. The Sea’s fish will be almost entirely gone within a dozen years. Those birds that remain will suffer from disease and the reproductive deformities and failures that plagued the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge twenty years ago. Some of the endangered and threatened species that use the Sea may be able to find other habitats, but others could suffer significant population losses. The tremendous scale of the Sea adds to its complexity, and the difficulty of finding a viable solution. The Sea currently runs almost 35 miles long, and 15 miles at its widest point, covering about 365 square miles. It has the largest surface area of any lake in California, yet is barely 50 feet at its deepest point. The Sea is 1/3 saltier than the ocean, and, fed by the fertilizers running off of neighboring fields, sustains incredible levels of biological productivity. Until recently, the amount of water entering the Sea was roughly balanced by the amount of water evaporating from its broad surface. Stabilizing the Sea at its current salinity would require the removal of more than four million tons of salt each year, assuming flows to the Sea do not change. But they will change. Under a set of agreements signed in 2003, the Imperial Valley has begun to transfer water to San Diego County, ultimately reducing flows to the Salton Sea. Other actions, including actions in Mexico, will also reduce the amount of water flowing to the Sea, by 45% or more in the next 30-40 years. These changes will dramatically decrease the size of the Salton Sea and the quality of its water. In September, 2003, the California legislature passed a set of laws that implement the 2003 water agreements and provide a 15-year reprieve for the Sea. The legislation offers the prospect of more than $300 million of restoration funds, but it does not guarantee a long-term restoration project for the Salton Sea. California’s Resources Agency will submit a Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Plan and related documents to the state legislature by December 31, 2006. The cost of any long-term restoration plan will almost certainly exceed a billion dollars. Although various private-public partnerships have been suggested, funding and implementation of any restoration plan is far from certain, especially given the lack of consensus on a preferred alternative.

Healthy, Fair, and Profitable: A Win-Win Pesticide Policy

Pacific Institute | January 1st, 2002

A new report released by the Pacific Institute and the California Green Scissors project makes the case for changing the way pesticides are regulated in California. Acc

A new report released by the Pacific Institute and the California Green Scissors project makes the case for changing the way pesticides are regulated in California. According to the report, if California significantly increased its funding for sustainable agriculture — instead of just spending money to regulate pesticide usage — we could aid California farmers, improve the public health and save millions of dollars in associated costs.

Helium isotope studies in the Mojave Desert, California: implications for groundwater chronology and regional seismicity

Chemical Geology (Elsevier) | November 7th, 2003

Hexavalent Chromium Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA)

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | May 4th, 2023

The Division of Drinking Water (DDW) of the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is responsible for adopting drinking water standards. Primary drinking

The Division of Drinking Water (DDW) of the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) is responsible for adopting drinking water standards. Primary drinking water standards, as defined in section 116275 of the California Safe Drinking Water Act (Health & Safety Code (HSC), div. 104, pt. 12, ch. 4, section 116270 et seq.), must be set in accordance with the requirements of HSC 116365. The purpose of the proposed regulation addressed in this Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) is to adopt a primary drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium in drinking water consisting of a maximum contaminant level (MCL) and pertinent monitoring and reporting requirements. Consistent with title 1 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), section 2003(a), the economic impact method used for the assessment was the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

High organofluorine concentrations in municipal wastewater affect downstream drinking water supplies for millions of Americans

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) | January 6th, 2025

Historical Fresh Water and Salinity Conditions in the Western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay

Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) | February 23rd, 2010

The watershed of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) provides drinking water to more than 23 million Californians as well as irrigation water for millions of acres

The watershed of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) provides drinking water to more than 23 million Californians as well as irrigation water for millions of acres of agriculture in the Central Valley. The Delta itself is a complex estuarine ecosystem, with populations of many native species now in serious decline. The Delta estuary as we know it began to form about 6,000 years ago, following the end of the last ice age. Because the estuary is connected to the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay, seawater intrusion causes the salinity of Suisun Bay and the Delta to vary depending on hydrological conditions. This seawater intrusion into the Delta affects estuarine species as well as drinking water and irrigation water supplies. Successful restoration of the Delta ecosystem requires an understanding of the conditions under which native species evolved. Contra Costa Water District’s report on “Historical Fresh Water and Salinity Conditions in the Western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay” presents a detailed review of more than 100 years of studies, monitoring data, scientific reports, and modeling analyses that establish an historical record of the salinity conditions in the Western Delta and Suisun Bay.

Historical Seawater Intrusion Map Pressure 180-Foot Aquifer - 500 mg/L or Greater Chloride Areas

Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) | April 11th, 2018

History and Sources of Co-Occurring Pesticides in an Abstraction Well Unraveled by Age Distributions of Depth-Specific Groundwater Samples

American Chemical Society (ACS) | November 24th, 2019

When groundwater-based drinking water supply becomes contaminated, the timing and source of contamination are obvious questions. However, contaminants often have diffuse

When groundwater-based drinking water supply becomes contaminated, the timing and source of contamination are obvious questions. However, contaminants often have diffuse sources and different contaminants may have different sources even in a single groundwater well, making these questions complicated to answer. Age dating of groundwater has been used to reconstruct contaminant travel times to wells; however, critics have highlighted that groundwater flow is often complex with mixing of groundwater of different ages. In drinking water wells, where water is typically abstracted from a large depth interval, such mixing is even more problematic. We present a way to overcome some of the obstacles in identifying the source and age of contaminants in drinking water wells by combining depth-specific sampling with age tracer modeling, particle tracking simulations, geological characterization, and contaminant properties. This multitool approach was applied to a drinking water well, where bentazon and dichlorprop contamination was found to have different pollutant sources and release histories, even though both pesticides can be associated with the same land use. Bentazon was derived from recent application to a golf course, while dichlorprop was derived from agricultural use more than 30 years ago. The advantages, limitations, and pitfalls of the proposed course of action are then further discussed.

History and Sources of Co-Occurring Pesticides in an Abstraction Well Unraveled by Age Distributions of Depth-Specific Groundwater Samples

American Chemical Society (ACS) | November 24th, 2019

When groundwater-based drinking water supply becomes contaminated, the timing and source of contamination are obvious questions. However, contaminants often have diffuse

When groundwater-based drinking water supply becomes contaminated, the timing and source of contamination are obvious questions. However, contaminants often have diffuse sources and different contaminants may have different sources even in a single groundwater well, making these questions complicated to answer. Age dating of groundwater has been used to reconstruct contaminant travel times to wells; however, critics have highlighted that groundwater flow is often complex with mixing of groundwater of different ages. In drinking water wells, where water is typically abstracted from a large depth interval, such mixing is even more problematic. We present a way to overcome some of the obstacles in identifying the source and age of contaminants in drinking water wells by combining depth-specific sampling with age tracer modeling, particle tracking simulations, geological characterization, and contaminant properties. This multitool approach was applied to a drinking water well, where bentazon and dichlorprop contamination was found to have different pollutant sources and release histories, even though both pesticides can be associated with the same land use. Bentazon was derived from recent application to a golf course, while dichlorprop was derived from agricultural use more than 30 years ago. The advantages, limitations, and pitfalls of the proposed course of action are then further discussed.

Hoopa Valley Tribe Water Quality Plan

Hoopa Valley Tribal Environmental Protection Agency | February 14th, 2008

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council pursuant to Title 37 of the Hoopa Tribal Code has assigned the primary responsibility for the protection and enhancement of water quality

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council pursuant to Title 37 of the Hoopa Tribal Code has assigned the primary responsibility for the protection and enhancement of water quality on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation to the Riparian Review Committee (RRC). The RRC along with the Hoopa Valley Tribal Environmental Protection Agency provides Reservation-wide coordination of the water quality control program by developing, reviewing and recommending for Tribal approval Reservation wide policies and plans for the implementation of Tribal and Federal law. This Water Quality Control Plan recognizes the unique characteristics of each watershed with regard to natural water quality, existing, potential, and historical beneficial uses, and water quality problems. The goal of this plan is to provide a definitive program of actions designed to preserve and enhance water quality on the Reservation, and to protect the beneficial uses of water for the next 10 years to 20 years. The plan is concerned with all factors and activities that might affect water quality. However, the plan emphasizes actions to be taken by the Riparian Review Committee, the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries, Forestry, Public Utility Departments, and Tribal Environmental Protection Agency, as they have responsibility for maintaining water quality on the Reservation. The Water Quality Control Plan (WQCP) is comprehensive in scope. The WQCP describes the Hoopa Valley Reservation waters, the quality and quantity issues, and the existing, potential and historical beneficial uses of the Reservation’s waters. The plan also prescribes criteria for the protection of the Reservation waters and includes plans and policies that describe the basis for the management of water quality and protection of human health. The Hoopa Valley Tribe has recognized authority for setting water quality standards for its Reservation waters, including both the Trinity and Klamath Rivers (U.S. EPA, 2002). Included in the plan are specific criteria that apply to the Lower Klamath River on the Hoopa Valley Reservation (Figure 1.1).