Salton Sea restoration projects get $72 million boost from feds, a historic first

Officials gathered in a small metal hangar at the south end of the Salton Sea on Thursday to celebrate $72 million in funding for restoration efforts at the Salton Sea, marking the first major investment by the federal government in restoration efforts at the sea.

The $72 million is part of a total of $250 million in funding for the Salton Sea approved as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Local, state, and federal officials traveled from the Coachella and Imperial valleys, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and further afar - California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot was fresh off a trip to Dubai for COP28 - to tout the historic agreement between local water agencies and the feds that brought the funding to the Salton Sea.

More: Imperial Irrigation District OKs plan aimed at preserving Colorado River, Salton Sea

The Biden Administration announced last year it would allocate up to $250 million for Salton Sea projects from Inflation Reduction Act funds in exchange for Colorado River conservation efforts by two Southern California water districts. The funds come from $4 billion allocated by Congress in August for drought resilience programs under the Inflation Reduction Act.

“This funding is a critical step in our collective efforts to address the challenges at the Salton Sea and our important partnership with the State of California, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said. “As we look to conserve critical water supplies in the Colorado River, we are united in our desire to preserve the Salton Sea, not only as a vital link in the Pacific Flyway but also as a valuable resource for the people of Southern California, in protecting their health, and in protecting the regional economy.”

The Imperial Irrigation District, which holds by far the largest rights to Colorado River water, approved the multi-agency agreement that requires IID to conserve an additional 250,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water in exchange for the funding shortly after the Biden Administration's announcement.  An acre-foot is enough to supply about two households. The U.S. Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Reclamation, the California Natural Resources Agency and the Coachella Valley Water District are also partners in the deal.

The historic announcement explicitly links cuts of Colorado River water supply to the rapidly dwindling Salton Sea, something IID officials have sought for years. Over 70% of the freshwater inflows to the Salton Sea consist of agricultural drain water from Imperial Valley, meaning reductions in water use by valley farmers result in less water flowing into the Salton Sea.

"The Salton Sea and the Colorado River are inextricably linked historically and especially today. And with this funding for the Salton Sea, the Bureau of Reclamation has allowed this unprecedented amount of conservation across the lower basin, but in particular, through the Imperial Valley to take place," said JB Hamby, vice president of the IID board of directors and chairman of the Colorado River Board of California.

Praising the Biden Administration, Crowfoot called the funding the first major federal investment at the Salton Sea, after years of state and local officials calling for more federal action on the sea. The federal government is one of the biggest landowners around the sea.

“For years, if not decades, too many people across the Colorado River basin had separated the challenges in the basin from the Salton Sea," he said. "And that was a point of frustration for the Imperial Irrigation District and I think the Coachella Valley Valley Water District, if we're asking farmers here to conserve water, but we're not willing to help address the environmental impact of doing so, it’s an untenable request."

Salton Sea projects: How will the money be used?

About $70 million of the funding announced Thursday will go toward expanding the state's Species Conservation Habitat Project along the sea's southern edge, and the other $2 million will go to the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians over five years to fund positions for supporting Salton Sea project implementation.

The 4,100-acre Species Conservation Habitat Project, billed as the “first large-scale project” under the state's Salton Sea Management Program, will restore shallow and deep water habitat lost to the sea’s receding shoreline and increasing salinity. A large network of ponds and wetlands will provide fish and bird habitat and suppress dust emissions from the receding shoreline along the sea’s southern edge.

Construction is now complete on the project, which involved building berms, islands and a mile-long causeway that connects to a pump station with a dredge channel extending another 4 miles into the sea. The pump station will provide water for habitat ponds, along with a structure that will divert water from the New River.  The next steps, expected in early 2024, will involve flooding part of the project with water.

The rest likely won't be flooded until after completion of the expansion project that will be funded with the $70 million in federal funding. When complete, the project will be 7,000 acres in size.

More: As the first major project at the Salton Sea nears completion, what’s next?

An additional $178 million in funding will be available upon further implementation of conservation actions by the Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District. This is in addition to $583 million in state funding committed to date for Salton Sea projects.

"If there's one thing that any of us IID directors who have knocked on doors for reelection get asked, its usually two questions. What's going on at the Salton Sea and why is no one living up to their promises?" Hamby said.

"Today, I think there's clear answers to both of those things," he continued. "First, this is a big project taking place at the Salton Sea, and with this federal investment it will make this massive project that the state has been undertaking even better, and second, (Touton) didn't even have to make a promise, she just went ahead and did it."

Expediting the Salton Sea 10-year plan

The funding is expected to expedite the state's efforts on the Salton Sea Management Program's 10-year plan, which has historically fallen behind on its acreage targets but has seen some movement over the past couple years.

The 10-year plan sets a target of constructing 30,000 acres of projects by 2028.

Now about halfway to the 2028 deadline, the state is supposed to have 11,500 total completed acres of habitat and dust-suppression projects by the end of 2023. These projects fall into two categories: aquatic habitat projects like wetlands and dust suppression projects like planted vegetation.

Currently, the Salton Sea Management Program has interim dust control measures in place on 5,356 acres of projects that are currently under construction. A total of 368 acres are considered completed, which is defined as "flooded for aquatic habitat and planted and irrigated for vegetation enhancement dust suppression projects."

Previous reporting from Desert Sun reporter Janet Wilson was used in this story.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Salton Sea restoration projects get historic $72 million boost from feds