Salton Sea Management Program Update – February 24, 2020
Also: Draft Dust Suppression Action Plan Available for Review; Projects to Reduce Dust on up to 3,800 Acres of Emissive Lakebed This Year; State Requests Proposals for Water Importation Independent Review Panel; Salton Sea Authority Approves MOU with Natural Resources Agency
The California Natural Resources Agency has posted its 2020 Annual Report on the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP). The report provides a summary of recent and planned activities by the SSMP to address air quality and ecological threats at the Sea.
The report notes that since the Natural Resources Agency’s last report to the State Water Resources Control Board in March 2019, the state team has significantly improved its capacity to deliver projects at the Sea.
It has developed a detailed time line for project implementation, with up to 3,800 acres of projects expected to be completed in 2020 on some of the most emissive lakebed around the Sea.
The report also summarizes planning activities, partnerships and community engagement efforts. … read more
Salton Sea Management Program Update – January 30, 2020
Also: Community Meetings Set for February 25, February 26 and March 4 on Dust Suppression Planning around Salton Sea; Gail Sevrens Added to State’s Salton Sea Team
The Salton Sea Management Program completed the Bruchard Road Dust Suppression Project on January 29, marking the State’s first completed dust suppression project under its SSMP.
The project, which launched January 22 on the southern shore of the Salton Sea, included surface roughening of approximately 112 acres. The project used a ditch plow to create furrows on the surface of exposed playa along Bruchard Road. The furrows are perpendicular to the most common direction of the wind, leaving the ground surface resembling a ruffled potato chip. As wind sweeps over the ground, the furrows slow it down and significantly reduce the amount of dust released into the air.
The Bruchard Road project is the first of several projects the Salton Sea Management Program will undertake in the coming months to reduce dust on emissive areas around the Sea.
The project, funded by Proposition 1, was a joint effort of the California Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Water Resources. DWR contracted with Imperial Irrigation District to conduct the work. IID and its contractors will continue to monitor the site to ensure it remains functional. … read more
