Press Release
May 16, 2000
LA QUINTA--The Salton Sea Authority
should evaluate the potential of reducing the salinity in the Salton Sea
through a series of shallow solar evaporation ponds similar to those
used by salt manufacturers.
That is one of the recommendations of
Parsons Engineering that will be presented to the Salton Sea Authority
Board Thursday when it reviews Parsons’ independent engineering report
on the alternatives to restore the Salton Sea.
The Authority board also will review a
proposal that it fund up to $100,000 for a one year contract with the
Salton Community Services District for a shoreline cleanup of fish in
the West Shores area.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the
Imperial Irrigation District Board room at the IID La Quinta
headquarters, 81-600 Avenue 58.
Parsons proposed the onshore or in-sea
solar ponds as a modification of the in- sea evaporation pond
alternatives presented in the original EIR/EIS.
The engineering company was retained by
the Authority in March to conduct an independent fatal flaw analysis of
the restoration alternatives contained in the draft environmental impact
report and environmental impact statement prepared by the Authority and
the Bureau of Reclamation.
“Parsons basically said that we have
the right pieces in place,” said Authority President Tom Veysey.
“They have come up with some ways to
refine the alternatives and we are taking those seriously. These
recommendations will help us improve our plans and develop a preferred
alternative,” Veysey said.
The engineering analysis also found
that “exporting water to the ocean from the sea and importing water
from the ocean is not an effective way to reduce or control the Sea’s
salinity.”
By importing salty ocean water, such
dual pipelines are extremely expensive and there are also major
environmental and political hurdles. The Parsons report states that they
make no sense from an engineering perspective.
The Authority’s board Thursday will
vote on whether to initiate a number of Parsons recommendations
including:
- Development
and evaluation of a series of solar evaporation ponds as a potential
restoration project
- Implementation
of the enhanced evaporation system pilot project
- Implementation
of a solar pond pilot project
- Analyze
commercial uses of restoration byproducts such as brine shrimp from
the solar ponds for fish food
- Analyze
and re-evaluate the sea’s elevation and salinity goals.
The Board also will review the proposal
from the Salton Community Services District to partner in a cleanup of
fish along eight high-use public sites on the West Shore of the sea.
Residents at
the Sea petitioned the Department of Fish and Game, the agency
responsible for the Sea’s fishery, to clean up dead fish around the
Sea.
Rather than
wait for the Department of Fish and Game to act, the Community Services
District submitted a proposal to the Authority to temporarily fund a
cleanup crew of two services district maintenance workers on a half-time
basis. Under the proposed contract, the Authority also would pay the
Services District for use of its equipment for the effort.
The
District’s proposal quotes rates for both personnel and equipment that
are lower than competitive industry market rates, Henry Snyder, the
District’s General Manager noted.
In
addition to contributing to a cleaner environment and creating more
appealing public shoreline areas, the Authority would gain data on the
volume and type of fish collected.
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