Why the Salton Sea?

There were many days in my childhood when walking from the car into school was a horribly smelly experience. This was not because of a childish lack of hygiene on my part. This smell was in the air, all around me. It didn’t happen all the time. Maybe around once a month.

This is a typical “Salton Sea day.”

The scene would go a little something like this:

“Eewwww! What is that smell? It’s like dead fish!….oh it’s just the Salton Sea.”

This oddball event (known to every Coachella Valley resident) was never questioned. It was accepted as a quirky part of desert life. It wasn’t really until a rant from my high school AP Environmental Science teacher that I realized this salty sea of ours was a big problem. I would hear dinner table conversation about it sometimes growing up, but more in the way you hear your parents talk about who is running for mayor. It wasn’t framed as an urgent environmental crisis–which it is.

Our inland sea is rapidly evaporating, leading to increased salinity. This poses as a threat to the migratory birds that stop there. The potential evaporation of the sea is also problematic because of potential contamination by agricultural runoff. Exposed sediment on the bottom of the sea could create devastating and toxic dust storms. I want to delve further into this issue. I want to discover more about the ecology and biology behind the Salton Sea, as well as how the sea relates to residents of the Coachella Valley. I want to find out what actions have been taken in regards to Salton Sea conservation, also what actions need to be taken in the future. Hopefully along the way I will stumble upon some new possible solutions to the environmental blight on Sunny Southern California.

Today, it is common to see dead fish floating on the surface of the water.

...like these dead fish on the North Shore of the sea

And to image this place was a tourist destination in the 50s!

The Coachella Valley

Here’s a more detailed picture of where I grew up, to put my investigation in context to those of you who have never heard of the Coachella Valley let alone the Salton Sea.

Yes, it’s this Coachella Valley:

Coachella Music Festival

Other than the ever-popularizing annual indie music festival, there is a population of around 600,000 people nestled between the gorgeous Santa Rosa and San Bernadino Mountains. The west end of the valley is known for wintertime tourism, abundant golf courses, and droves of gated communities. The east end of the valley is known for agriculture and strong Hispanic heritage. The socio-econimic and racial divisions of the valley from east to west are a compelling subject to me. However, these issues have little to do with my Salton Sea research, so I shall leave them aside here. Unless they happen to pop up again, that is…

Just so you have a vague idea… here are some aerial photos I took on my cell phone:

Hovering Somewhere over La Quinta

(I don’t know why it won’t rotate, apologies)

Another View of (maybe) La Quinta

Above the Fields of the East Valley, possibly Thermal

The point I am trying to get across is that the west end of the valley, toward LA, is where most commercial commerce is located, as well as high population centers. To the east lie many agricultural fields and ….the Salton Sea!

The Coachella Valley has a very arid and warm climate. Humidity is minimal and temperatures can break 120 degrees Farenheit in the summer. The mountain range to the west blocks most rainclouds from reaching the valley, hence the “desert effect.” To locals, the Coachella Valley is simply referred to as “the desert.”

Just one more photo to situate ourselves within the context of California geography:

Southern California

It takes about 2 hours to drive to Los Angeles and about 3 to San Diego from the Coachella Valley. Granted, that travel time depends on where you start from.

Now back to the Salton Sea. This post serves as some relevant background info about me and where I live. I’ll get to the nitty-gritty Salton Sea investigation in upcoming posts. But, here is a little teaser I found during my initial researching. The following is the introduction to a paper by James Ferro. Ferro’s paper was a Directed Research in Political Science at USC, titled “Salton Sea: Shifting Seascape of Identity and Politics.”

Once upon a time in a hot and arid land, a strange event occurred. Floodwaters from a grand and faraway river stormed into this desert basin. The water flowed day after day, night after night until a beautiful, large lake appeared. It shimmered in the desert sun. It was an oasis of life and hope in a barren land. Birds of many feathers and fish of many fins made it their home. But, alas, like all good things, it was soon discovered by Man.

The first person was a farmer. “Ah, what a good place to grow my crops, and we need, as we all know, lots and lots of agriculture, for man does not live by meat alone.” Soon many farmers followed.

The next one was a fisherman. “Ah, what a great place to fish! I’ll start a fishery, and soon this place will be populated by fishermen from all over the world, for man does not live by bread alone.” Soon many fishermen followed.

The third one was a bird lover. “Ah, what a wonderful place to bird watch; they need many protective sanctuaries, for how can they or man live without nature?” Soon many nature lovers followed.

The fourth person was a weekend warrior. “Ah, what a great place to swim, water ski, and boat, for man does not live by work alone.” Soon many pleasure-seekers followed.

The last one was an entrepreneur – a wheeler and dealer. “Ah, look at all this land and water. I could buy thousands of acres and sell my water to the thirsty city folks down South, for man does not live without profit and gain.” Soon many wheelers and dealers followed.

Everyone was very happy in this sunny place until one day a terrible smell permeated the land. The fresh water lake was now salty and full of metals from run-off crop water. It was getting smaller and smaller, too.

Farmer mused: “What’s happening to the lake?” Fisherman moaned: “What’s happening to the fish; they’re all floating?” Bird lover cried: “The birds are all dying!” Weekend warrior shouted: “Man, it stinks! I’m outta here!” Wheeler and dealer yelled: “Call my lawyer. If the lake dries up, who’s responsible?”

All of them looked at each other and pointed their fingers. “It’s your fault!” they all shouted in unison. While each one tried to out shout the other, the lake grew smaller and smaller until one day it completely disappeared.

Then suddenly a hot wind stirred and blew across the face of the dry lakebed. It lifted up the dry metals and formed a toxic dust cloud. It blew across the desert floor and engulfed the arguing voices. A choking was heard and then dead silence. The cloud then blew towards a large city where people worked and played and vaguely remembered the desert lake.

It’s a bit cheeky for my taste, but I think the fable-ized version of the Salton Sea’s story is an appropriate preview of the complex problems I am going to investigate.

Just a few parting words before I go. My goal is that this blog will be a) informative, b) entertaining, and most importantly c) make the Salton Sea a relevant issue to Desert locals and environmentalists throughout the country. It might be ambitious, but I have faith in this newfangled internet social media thing. The awareness I aim to bring and questions I will ask about the Salton Sea will hopefully contribute to social action on the matter.

Till Next Time,

The Desert Rat

p.s.  a “desert rat” is the colloquial term for someone who was born and bred in the desert setting of the Coachella Valley