Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT TOM KIRK, SALTON SEA AUTHORITY, 
(760)-564-4888
Or Bill Gay, (760) 337-1700

Dec. 12, 2002

The Salton Sea Authority will be conducting an independent study of a proposal by U.S. Filter Corp to provide water to metropolitan Southern California by turning the Salton Sea into a wide, slightly saline river flowing around a salt-water marsh.

The Authority board voted in December to have independent consultants assess technical, biological, financial and other components of the plan.

“A white paper of the evaluation will be prepared by qualified consultants and reviewed by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Salton Sea Authority Technical Advisory Committee and the Salton Sea Science Office,” said Tom Kirk, Authority executive director.

The white paper will include a critical assessment of the plan, suggest refinements or improvements and provide recommendations for next steps.

The plan also will undergo a peer review, lead by the Salton Sea Science Office in a process that may also include focused workshops. The board also requested formal input from Salton Sea area citizens about the concept.

U.S. Filter says its plan would provide up to 500,000 acre-feet of potable water by capturing the irrigation runoff that now feeds the Salton Sea. The water would be caught in a dike and channel it to a desalinization and treatment plant at the north end of the Sea.

Discharge from the plant would flow to a pool inside the sea and would eventually form a smaller lake inside the Sea as a repository for salt.  Meanwhile, the outer river would be slightly saline and would be suitable for fishing and boating.

“The U.S. Filter plan has many attributes, such as providing an increased fresh water supply for Southern California and long term environmental protection features,” said Kirk.

“Recent water transfer proposals have generally focused on one side of the equation: long term urban water supply, while only addressing the environmental impacts over a very short time period,” he said.

There are a number of environmental and water quality issues as well as possible visual and recreational impacts that have been raised regarding the plan.  The intent of the independent evaluation is to seriously consider those impacts, suggest strategies for improving elements of the plan and weigh the benefits of the plan against the impacts.

Kirk added that successful restoration of the Sea will require creative approaches that use cost-effective, scientifically-sound technologies.

“We appreciate U.S. Filter stepping up to the plate and we will give this serious consideration,” Kirk said.

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