The water pumped from the Salton Sea enters the first concentrator (far right) through a pipeline. This water flows by gravity through the remaining four concentrator ponds until it is concentrated enough to begin depositing solid salt. The first solid salts are collected in the crystallizer ponds. The brine continues to flow by gravity through the remaining ponds. Salts of varying qualities are deposited in the mixed salt pond. The remaining material, termed bittern, is collected in the last two ponds on the left. No water is discharged from the project; it is all evaporated in the ponds.

For centuries, salt has been mined from salt lakes and the ocean by using the sun. So, it was no surprise that the salt industry recommended that the Authority try the solar ponds concept as a means of removing salt from the Sea.

The Solar Pond Pilot Project has been operating for over a year and has emerged as a cost-effective and viable option for reducing salinity. The Pilot Project is located on 10 acres adjacent to the Sea near Niland.

The project began with ten ponds as noted in the blueprints above
and has now grown to 12, based on the data from the first half of the project. They have been constructed to determine how solar ponds work at the Sea and how to best design and site ponds on an operational basis. The ponds will remove most of the salt from the Sea brine in solid form. This amounts to 58 tons of salt per acre-foot of Salton Sea water. The Authority has budgeted about $1 million to support this important project.

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