California’s largest inland body of water is in trouble. Inflows to the Salton Sea have decreased, salinity is growing, the ecosystem is collapsing, and neighboring communities are suffering high rates of respiratory illnesses caused, many believe, by contaminants in dust blowing off the exposed former seabed.
It’s not possible to import enough water quickly enough to save the ecosystem and cover the contaminants. The solutions must be more practical: Fixing the salinity will be the key to saving this crucial habitat. A targeted approach can also reduce dust.
After decades of neglect, a foreseeable problem has devolved into an urgent crisis. Each year more salt flows in while the sea shrinks due to agriculture-to-urban water transfers and the West’s yearslong drought, making the ecosystem less habitable to remaining wildlife.
