Salton Sea Authority welcomes refinements to plan

Public Record, The, Mar 29, 2005 by Davis, Rick

The Salton Sea Authority's top executive has praised a recently released independent evaluation of the organization's proposed restoration project for the state's largest inland body of water - an evaluation that found several potential weaknesses in the original concept. And the authority already has revised its plan to address issues raised in the report.

"This report is part of the important technical work that the authority has always understood would be needed to further refine our plan," Salton Sea Authority Executive Director Ron Enzweiler said recently.

The report was written by Michael Cohen of the Pacific Institute and released on March 11. It was prepared on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey Salton Sea Science Office.

The document contains findings from a 2004 scientific workshop staged to evaluate the authority's "North Lake Plan" for restoring the sea. The plan is one of several options currently being considered by the state's Resources Agency in its legislatively mandated study of ecosystem restoration alternatives for the Salton Sea.

The plan advocates splitting the existing sea into two parts, separated by a dike. The northern portion would be a 140-square-mile permanent saltwater lake. The southern portion would contain wetlands areas and brine pools, ringed by channels that would transport inflows from the New River and Alamo River to the lake in the north end.

"Since I took over as executive director [in October 2004], the authority has been conducting internal-design reviews and soliciting public input to determine ways the conceptual North Lake Plan could be modified to address community concerns, as well as improve economic development and recreational opportunities," Enzweiler said.

Enzweiler said his board already has approved a revised conceptual design that eliminates the shallow habitat areas in the south end that were identified as selenium traps.

"Instead of narrow channels, we plan to build a dike in 10 feet of water around the south end of the sea," said Enzweiler. "This feature will preserve the existing shoreline habitat areas and create a 30square-mile lake in Imperial County. He said the authority also has proposed reducing the water inflow requirements to 700,000 acre-feet per year by moving the mid-sea barrier farther north. Also, the selenium removal process is being pilottested to show it will be feasible to remove selenium before it can collect in the wetlands, according to Enzweiler.

In noting that other refinements are in the works, Enzweiler said, "We are especially focusing on the issue of fluctuating inflows, as well as potential longer-term reduction of inflows below 700,000 acre feet per year."

Enzweiler indicated more study is needed regarding the potential of dust issues created by a receding shoreline an area of focus in the Resources Agency study. The authority is expected to incorporate in its plan the air-quality mitigation measures recommended by the state.

The authority's Technical Advisory Committee will discuss the science review panels' report on April 14, then make recommendations to the board.