Salton Sea Integrated Water Management Plan
Genesis
In late 2002, US Filter proposed that restoring the Salton Sea be linked to providing water for metropolitan California. They proposed that rivers flowing into the Salton Sea be desalinated and the "product" water be sold to urban areas. The profits from such a sale could, in turn, help fund dike/dam construction in the Salton Sea to manage water quality and stabilize the lake's level.
Description
Out of the initial US Filter concept, a new idea emerged that added water quality and habitat improvements to the water supply/ dike mix. The Salton Lake idea preserves a marine lake environment in the north basin while maintaining and creating extensive shallow water areas in the south for waterbirds and other wildlife. All areas would benefit from water quality improvements that would reduce nutrients and other constituents before they are conveyed into the lake and habitat areas, thereby significantly reducing odors and fish kills. The plan opens up previously flooded areas for expansion of geothermal energy plants. The geothermal plants provide an environmental friendly source of power for the state and are a huge stimulus to the Imperial Valley economy. The plan also has other important socioeconomic and employment implications for the Imperial Valley. Current water transfer strategies include a requirement that Imperial Irrigation District (IID) farmland be fallowed for up to 15 years to maintain the sa
Cost
The total cost of the project could be close to $2 billion, including constructing dams, wildlife preserves and one of the world's largest desalination plants. It is proposed that many of these costs would be recouped from the sale of water at a cost of about $470/acre-foot. That is about half of the cost of desalinating ocean water, but about $200 more per acre-foot than transferring water from the Imperial Valley and not improving the Salton Sea. Who bears which cost would be the subject of negotiation and discussion between water districts, state and federal governments, and others.
How Much Water Can Be Generated?
A lot. At least 200,000 acre-feet of water could be generated, or enough to provide water for 1 to 2 million people. If current plans to transfer water from Imperial Irrigation District to San Diego falter or phase out, this concept could make up the difference, i.e. another 300,000 acre feet. Other projects which result in more "waste" water flowing into the Sea could free up even more water for sale to urban areas.
Next Step
On April 3, 2003 the Salton Sea Authority Board endorsed the Salton Lake concept. While acknowledging that the concept is not a magic bullet, the Board viewed the Salton Lake plan as a promising potential solution to problems at the Sea. Work to be done includes addressing concerns about the foundation conditions for dam construction, selenium concentrations, and the health of the new fishery must be addressed. Major engineering, planning and public outreach efforts will occur during the balance of 2003 to help the Salton Sea Authority and its partners fully consider, communicate and further develop the concept and move restoration forward.
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U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Draft EIR/EIS
In January 2000, the Salton Sea Authority and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement after 18 months of extensive scientific and engineering evaluations of the Sea.
The report contained five alternatives to restore the Salton Sea.
ãThis is an important step forward to ensure that we preserve the rich biodiversity and recreational values at the Salton Sea,ä Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt said.
The documents also recommended several immediate actions including recreational facilities enhancements, a shoreline cleanup program, a fish-harvesting program and an integrated wildlife disease study.
The restoration project was developed to comply with federal legislation that directs the Secretary of Interior to ãconduct a research project for the development of a method·to reduce and control salinity, provide endangered species habitat, enhance fisheries and protect recreation values in the area of Salton Sea.ä
Project Goals
The goals of the project are to
- Maintain the sea as a repository for agricultural drainage.
- Provide a safe environment for birds and endangered species.
- Restore recreational uses of the Sea.
- Maintain a viable sport fishery.
- Enhance the Sea to provide economic development.
During the public comment period on the EIR/EIS draft, the Salton Sea Authority and Bureau of Reclamation received more than 1,700 public comments regarding the alternatives.
Parsons Report
In March 2000, Parsons Engineering was retained to conduct a ãfatal flaw analysis of the alternatives.ä (See Parsons Report)
Parsons presented its report in May, stating that there were no ãfatal flawsä found in the alternatives; however, they did recommend some modifications including an evaluation of onshore or in-sea solar ponds as a modification of the in- sea evaporation pond alternatives presented in the original EIR/EIS.
Parsons suggested that techniques used in private industry to manufacture salt using a series of shallow solar evaporation ponds might be a good method to reduce the Seaâs salinity.
Supplemental EIR/EIS
In August 2000, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Salton Sea Authority announced plans to revise and supplement the EIR/EIS based upon the public comments and the engineering evaluations.
The supplemental review process is exploring additional restoration alternatives such as the large-scale solar ponds suggested by Parsons.
Additionally, references to the use of Colorado River flood flows were deleted from the alternatives.
The revised EIR/EIS will address the potential of selecting a preferred alternative for restoration of the Sea early next year.
Since the release of the draft restoration plan in January, a number of promising evaporation technologies have been tested and construction of pilot projects, including an enhanced evaporation system and solar ponds, is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2000.
Other restoration efforts underway include programs for curbing wildlife disease, shoreline cleanup and fish harvesting.
Alternative 1
Alternative 1 would involve constructing two evaporation ponds within the Sea. The combined surface area of the ponds would be approximately 33 square miles but would depend on the elevation of the water surface in the ponds and seasonal fluctuations. The ponds would concentrate the salts from the Sea and assist in stabilizing the surface elevation. Approximately 98,000 af/yr of water would be pumped into these ponds from the Sea each year. Evaporation of this water would concentrate salts in the ponds and allow the salinity in the remainder of the Sea to be maintained at an acceptable level. The ponds also would create a displacement, which would assist in maintaining the target elevation level of the Sea (+/- -230 feet) should inflows to the Sea decrease in the future. The ponds would be located at the south end of the Sea, with one west of the mouth of the New River and the other by the Salton Sea Test Base.
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Alternative 2
Alternative 2 would involve constructing an Enhanced Evaporation System (EES) on a site north of Bombay Beach. The EES is a method to remove salts from the Sea by increasing evaporation rates through spraying. Alternative 2 involves constructing tower modules to process 150,000 af/yr of Salton Sea water. The system would operate on average 18 hours per day and automatically shut down when winds exceed 14 miles per hour (mph). Each module would consist of a line of towers connected by hoses with spray nozzles and precipitation ponds.
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Alternative 3
Alternative 3 would be similar to Alternative 2 however, for Alternative 3 the EES would be located at the Salton Sea Test Base.
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Alternative 4
This alternative combines the technology of Alternatives 1 and 3 to increase the effectiveness and speed at which salts are removed from the Sea. The EES would be constructed on the Salton Sea Test Base, but the size of the EES would be reduced to a capacity of 100,000 af/yr. The southwest evaporation pond would be constructed as described in Alternative 1.
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Alternative 5
Alternative 5 combines an evaporation pond near the Salton Sea Test Base with a 150,000 af/yr EES incorporated within the pond itself. The EES used in this alternative would involve technology typically used in artificial snowmaking. Instead of the tower configuration described in Alternative 1, this method would utilize a series of portable, ground-based blowers that would use air to spray piped Salton Sea water up into the air and into the evaporation pond, rather than dropping it from towers.
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