Salton sea

I thought you might enjoy/loathe this.

Looks like they are going to try it again!

http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=4316&cat=Local%20News

Good money after bad I'm afriad, however it seems like they are looking to correct the problems rather than just patching over them, so that's nice.

I've spent a considerable amount of time in this area.  The video is certainly interesting but it doesn't tell much of the story.  Go to Mecca on the northern end and you will find a huge agricultural area that is 98% hispanic.  The population doubles during harvesting season.  If you've ever bought grapes or bell peppers at the market I guarentee many of them have come from this area of CA.

Drive from Mecca to I10 through Box Canyon and you will see one of the gems of the California desert.

So yeah, the Salton Sea gets more poluted every year for sure.  Agricultural runoff and evaporation.  That is true but it's not going anywhere soon.

I got the impression that that was going on from the video, I think it was there but perhaps you missed it. I for one didn't even know that the salton sea existed until someone facebooked this video, and before reading your post and without any research concluded that that must be the case (aside from the hispanic part).

I do like the idea in the revival project of capturing the nutrients in the agricultural runoff. I also suspect that the fish die off could be harvested easily (but unpleasantly) to make agricultural products like compost.

Welcome to this side of paradise. What heavens and hells we create for ourselves.

I like the idea of fixing the Salton Sea if it is economically possible without a massive infusion of taxpayer monies.

There is great beauty to be found around this area and much recreation potential.  There is a large off roading hot spot west of the sea that attracts some commerce to the area.  A bit west of that is the Anzo Borrego State Park which is one of the finest California State Parks.

I think that calling it an accidental sea is a bit misleading.  There have been inland seas here in this region for millions of years and the signs are everywhere.

We're getting good at creating wetlands that filter runoff etc, so I believe it is possible to deal with the agricultural waste.  The algae in a large shallow body of water can be difficult to deal with.    Near where I live a similar lake has algae along with mercury, some naturally occurring, some human caused.  Makes it difficult to turn it into bio-fuel or fertilizer.

I feel bad for the people that bought property/live there but I think that spending tax payer dollars so they can recoup their investments is wrong.  The investors of the properties should pay for trying to fix the problem which I doubt can be fixed. 

I saw a documentary called "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea" and almost every person that lived there was drinking and talking about how some day they will make a killing on their investment.  Meanwhile, there is refuse (tires, scrap wood and rusted crap) all over the place.  I know that the problems can't be solved by picking up garbage but show initiative and don't just wait for the government/tax payers to bail you out.

[end rant]