UC Santa Cruz to Conduct Independent Feasibility Assessment of Water Importation Strategies for the Salton Sea

Salton Sea Management Program Update – April 6, 2021

Also: Now in Spanish, the Executive Summary of the SSMP Annual Report; SSMP Seeks Applicants for an Assistant Deputy Director

The Salton Sea Management Program is finalizing a contract with the University of California, Santa Cruz to perform an independent feasibility assessment of water importation strategies for the Salton Sea.

UC Santa Cruz will convene an independent expert panel to review 11 water importation concepts submitted to the state in 2018, assess their technical and economic feasibility, and evaluate the overall viability of water importation as a long-term strategy for restoration of the Salton Sea. The panel will be supported by an analytical team led by Dr. Brent Haddad, professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz.

The work is expected to get underway by June 1 of this year and conclude by the summer of 2022.

“UC Santa Cruz has significant experience facilitating independent technical panels, and we are excited with the multidisciplinary approach they will take on this project,” said Arturo Delgado, Assistant Secretary for Salton Sea Policy at the California Natural Resources Agency. “We look forward to getting them officially on board so this work can get underway.”

One of the first tasks for UC Santa Cruz will be to develop a detailed work plan for performing the feasibility assessment. Further details will be available in coming weeks.

The feasibility analysis of water importation concepts will be a key input for the long-range plan the SSMP is required to develop and submit to the State Water Resources Control Board. Public engagement to launch development of the long-range plan will begin—concurrently with the independent review of water importation proposals—in the coming months.

The long-range plan, which is due by the end of 2022, will establish a strategy for long-term restoration of the Salton Sea beyond the SSMP’s Phase I: 10-Year Plan currently being implemented. Options evaluated to inform the long-range plan will include project build-out based on projected future water inflows within the Salton Sea watershed, as well as water importation for a whole-Sea alternative if importation is found to be feasible

Now in Spanish, the Executive Summary of the SSMP Annual Report

The executive summary of the 2021 Annual Report on the Salton Sea Management Program is now available in Spanish. Find the Informe anual 2021 resumen ejecutivo on the SSMP home page along with other updates and recent documents. A Spanish translation of the full report is expected soon.

SSMP Seeks Applicants for an Assistant Deputy Director

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is seeking an Assistant Deputy Director for the Salton Sea Restoration Program.

The Assistant Deputy Director will develop and lead the DWR’s Salton Sea team, deliver wetland and dust suppression projects in coordination with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Natural Resources Agency, coordinate across local, state, and federal agencies to support the state’s legal commitments to Salton Sea restoration.

Find information and instructions for applying at the CalCareer website: https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=245144

If you have questions, please contact Myra Galvez of DWR at (916) 653-8735.

###

To sign up to receive Salton Sea Community Updates, please click here.