California Breaks Ground on Salton Sea Conservation Project Expansion

The Salton Sea is seen in Salton City, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2021. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

California and federal officials broke ground on Tuesday to begin the expansion of restoration efforts at the Salton Sea, one of the largest lakes in the state, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The Salton Sea, a saline lake located in Imperial County in southern California, has shrunk in recent years due to declining water levels, leaving an exposed lakebed that worsens air quality and impacts the habitat for fish and wildlife.

The DOI said the expansion of the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat project was part of a $250 million grant from the Inflation Reduction Act. California has also allocated over $500 million in state funding for Salton Sea restoration efforts.

The project aims to create a network of ponds and wetlands at the Salton Sea site to provide habitats for fish and birds while reducing dust to improve air quality for the communities in the region.

The initial phase of the project covered 4,100 acres and will now be expanded by 750 acres, bringing the total to nearly 5,000 acres, according to a statement issued by the governor’s office.

“California is making major strides on restoration efforts at the Salton Sea, and we’re expanding this critical work to create habitat on hundreds more acres and help improve air quality in neighboring communities,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an Oct. 15 statement.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), one of the officials at the groundbreaking ceremony, said that federal funding could enable the expansion of the restoration work at the Salton Sea to around 8,000 acres in the future.

“As the Salton Sea lakebed recedes, toxic dust is contaminating air quality and threatening the stability of the local ecosystem,” Padilla said in a statement on Oct. 15.

According to the Imperial Irrigation District, which serves the Imperial Valley, a breach in an irrigation inlet in the Colorado River in 1905 led to a spill that flooded a highly saline area and formed the Salton Sea. Over the century, the body of water became home to fish and migratory birds.

Decades-long drought conditions and modern agricultural development in the surrounding valleys have reduced freshwater inflows while making the lake a sink for agricultural runoff, including artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

California secured a $70 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation through the Inflation Reduction Act in December last year, enabling the expansion of the lake’s restoration efforts.

In August, an agreement was reached with the Bureau of Reclamation to facilitate land access for project implementation and an additional $175 million in federal funding to accelerate restoration work, according to the senator.

David Lam and Cynthia Cai contributed to this report.