The Power of Water: The promise and perils of California’s Salton Sea

I could never visit the Salton Sea. The thought of running into Trevor terrifies me.

You should’ve interviewed some old timer that has been there a long time… Not someone who just moved there nine years ago… It was nasty nine years ago

There needs to be a clear policy on the Salton Sea. And then made clear to the public. If the policy is to let the lake evaporate and go away, then make that policy well known and don’t get wish washy about it. If the plan is to re water the lake, then make the choice and make it happen. California is littered with dry lake beds. Some man made, most naturally made. Tulare lake was purposely dried up but since it’s a natural basin, in high water runoff years, it reforms for a while. The reason it went away was it’s water sources were diverted for other uses. Like the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, which prior to 1960, was the worlds 4th largest lake. Now, most of it is gone. What little of it that’s left is being recovered, but most of it has been allowed to die and for all intents and purposes, it’s not going to be reestablished.

Sonny Bono would have changed the future of this lake if he hadn't passed away.

The Laguna Salada in Mexico not too far from there met the same faith, used to be an oasis that is now dried up into a lake of sand.

The Salton Sea was created by an accident in the early 1900s. It's not supposed to be there.

Drove by the Salton sea a couple of times last year. The smell is putrid.

When even the camera men sound/light crews producer and news people dont know the story till the writers tell them to show it you're watching a show the salton sea was formally the largest high density salt lake in the world

But is mining lithium near this water bed located on the San Andres Fault Line a good idea?

Sandy shores in gta 5

Interesting.. I’ve been prospecting for graphite 😬

One major administrative problem there is that the area has no government. It's like the wild west. There are issues with criminals and other bad guys hiding there, not having to worry about the cops hunting them down. Has been an issue for years but has gotten worse. The area has been written off, almost like a bad debt by local governments. Many homes there are held by squatters and are not registered and paying taxes. However, rumors have it that businesses around the lithium industry may be locating there. If so, they will demand the area be policed and properly administered. Good luck with that project.

How do you not know about the salt sea? Especially before moving there?

Amazing never heard about it before but I am from Australia.

Woe... dangerous waves with dusty

It's a shame the army Corp shot down the idea of pumping in sea water through a pipe.

Simple solution pay out all those people that own there land so they can move somewhere else and drain that body of water that was never naturally made to be sustainable

How far is the california Gost lake - pump the water back to this site, save the farmlands under the Gost lake while saving the Salton sea and the area's around it. Is this possible?

Was there a nuke in the bottom of the Salton Sea? In 1944-45 a series of classified B-29 practice flights were made from Wendover, Utah to the Salton Sea. At the sea, the crew dropped dummy atomic bombs onto a floating white raft and other targets. Salton Sea Test Base Abandoned Naval Station | Desert USA Desert USA

One overlooked solution is pump storage between the Salton Sea and Pacific Ocean in California. Pump water out of the Salton Sea at night using geothermal energy and produce hydroelectric power during the day by adding Pacific ocean water to the Salton Sea. The surface area of the Salton sea is 343 square miles. There is a 225 feet of elevation difference between the Salton Sea and Pacific Ocean. They have already bored a hole in the mountain between the imperial valley and San Diego to transport fresh water. They could drill another one for this battery storage idea. Another advantage is you effectively reduce the high salinity of the Salton Sea while improving air quality of the imperial valley by covering the entire dry lake bed.