The Salton Sea - San Diego County Water Authority

Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea
early 2016. The water agencies’ money also
funded a feasibility study and financial plan
being developed by the California Natural
Resources Agency and the Salton Sea Authority that will set a path forward for the state to
meet its restoration obligations. That study is
expected to be completed in 2016.
Forging a Path Forward
From the signing of the QSA in 2003, the
Water Authority has advocated for the state
to meet both its mitigation and restoration
obligations. Most recently, the Water Authority urged the creation of a task force that
would oversee restoration efforts and be led
by the Governor’s Office. Gov. Jerry Brown’s
2015 budget created a Salton Sea Task
Force and set aside money to hire a leader of
this effort.
The creation of the state task force is an
indication that the state, after years of stalled
action on the sea, has begun to acknowledge
its obligations under state law created by
legislation passed in 2003. Led by the
assistant secretary for Salton Sea policy,
the task force also consists of representatives from the Natural Resources Agency, the
California Environmental Protection Agency
and related state departments. Meetings with
stakeholders started in 2015.
The Salton Sea
There are other signs of progress at the
state level. Legislation signed in October
2015 sets key milestones for the state to fulfill
its restoration obligations. The legislation
tasked the Natural Resources Agency with
providing a list of “shovel ready” projects,
which is critical to move restoration forward
in a timely manner. The Salton Sea Task Force
has called for the creation of up to 12,000
acres of wetlands and seashore restoration over the next five years, and for work
to begin on an additional 25,000 acres of
restoration by 2020. A science advisory committee is being established to ensure the work
is guided by the best available science.
Another hopeful sign at the sea was the
passage of the statewide ballot measure
Proposition 1 in 2014. It included $475 million for the Natural Resources Agency to provide financial support for a variety of state
settlement obligations, including restoration of
the Salton Sea. The Water Authority joined its
QSA partners and other stakeholders in advocating for projects at the sea to receive as
much of that funding as possible. The governor’s budget for fiscal year 2016-17 includes
$80 million in Proposition 1 funding for Salton
Sea projects that expand habitat and suppress dust at the sea.
In Search of a Sustainable Future
Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
DIVERSIFICATION
Enhancing Water
Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California, covering about 376 square miles of
Imperial and Riverside counties. It is found in
the Salton Basin, which from the earliest documented history has been periodically filled
with water, most notably ancient Lake Cahuilla. In its current form, the Salton Sea was
created by accident when a dike gave way
and the Colorado River flooded the basin
in 1905.
Since then, the sea has been fed mainly
by agricultural runoff in the New and Alamo
rivers (which start in Mexico and flow through
the Imperial Valley) and the Whitewater River
in the Coachella Valley. Today, the Salton
Sea provides habitat for a wide range of
bird species, including migratory birds on the
Pacific Flyway.
In recent years, questions have surfaced
about the potential impacts on the sea caused
by the Quantification Settlement Agreement,
a historic set of docuAF = acre-foot
ments signed in 2003
One acre-foot is
to reduce California’s
approximately
use of the Colorado
325,900 gallons,
River to its annual
enough to supply
two single-family
allotment of 4.4 milhouseholds of four
lion acre-feet largely
for a year.
through water conservation-and-transfer
agreements.
The QSA provides the state with a means to
manage its Colorado River supplies through a
water conservation program funded largely by
the San Diego County Water Authority. Related
efforts by the Water Authority and its partnering agencies (Coachella Valley Water District
and Imperial Irrigation District) to provide environmental funding under the QSA Joint Powers
Authority are a critical component of the sea’s
future. Through that ongoing effort, the JPA has
mitigated the impacts of the water transfers
Sustained Federal Action is Needed
Mitigation & Restoration Projects
Recent efforts by the State of California to
develop the Salton Sea Management Program provides a path toward a smaller, but
more sustainable, Salton Sea. As a primary
landowner at the sea and an entity with a
vested interest in the continued success of the
QSA, the federal government should continue to support this effort and help pay for
ongoing restoration initiatives.
Recent progress includes:
■ In August 2016, the U.S. Department of
the Interior and the California Department of Natural Resources signed a
memorandum of understanding regarding coordination of activities to manage
the Salton Sea. A federal investment of
$30 million is the latest critical funding piece for near-term and mid-term
projects.
4677 Overland Ave.
San Diego, California
92123-1233
858.522.6700
Salton Sea Mitigation
and Restoration Sites
sdcwa.org
QSA Mitigation Projects
Current Restoration Projects
@sdcwa
Printed on recycled paper
■ In September 2016, the U.S. Senate
approved S. 2848, the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) of 2016. The
bill maintains the current authorization of
$30 million for the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers at the Salton Sea. It also
changes the status of pilot projects from
“temporary” to “permanent.” The Water
Authority supports the Senate’s Salton
Sea provision.
■ The U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure also approved its
version of WRDA, H.R. 5303, in September 2016. The full House is expected
to vote on the bill soon after Election
Day. A conference committee would then
reconcile differences between the House
and Senate bills.
Several mitigation and restoration projects supported by the Water Authority are under way in the Salton Sea Basin.
4
October 2016
The San Diego County Water Authority sustains a $222 billion regional economy and the quality of life for 3.3 million residents
through a multi-decade water supply diversification plan, major infrastructure investments and forward-thinking policies that
promote fiscal and environmental responsibility. A public agency created in 1944, the Water Authority delivers wholesale water
supplies to 24 retail water providers, including cities, special districts and a military base.
Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea
Salton Sea Water Flows
Evaporation
OUTFLOW
Coachella Valley
10% of Total Inflows
QSA Mitigation Water
10% of Total Inflows
Imperial Valley
Agriculture
70% of Total Inflows
ing substantial amounts of water from the
New River for reuse south of the international
border, and changing agricultural practices in
the Imperial Valley.
Attention has recently focused on fugitive
dust that might be created at the sea as a result of the QSA. However, Imperial and eastern Riverside counties – by the nature of their
desert environment – have been designated
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
as areas of non-attainment for dust particles
known as PM10. Windblown dust from the
surrounding desert, dirt roads, off-roading
activities and pollution from Mexico are all
factors in the current non-attainment designation – not the QSA.
Funding a Mitigation Program
Mexico
10% of Total Inflows
Salton Sea water levels are influenced by several sources, including
agricultural runoff, inflows from Mexico, and a small amount of rainwater.
The main loss of water is from evaporation. In 2016, evaporation from
the sea is estimated to be greater than the inflows from all sources.
from the start and set the stage for the state
to make good on its commitment for a restoration program at the sea.
Decades of Environmental Concerns
The sea’s environmental issues pre-date
the QSA by decades. As far back as the
1960s, the sea has been monitored for rising
salinity and selenium levels, two hallmarks
of an inland body of water with no outlets
fed by nutrient-rich agricultural runoff. Long
before the QSA, both state and federal
authorities forecasted a troubled future for
the Salton Sea. In particular, salinity was
expected to eventually threaten fish habitat
even without a reduction of inflows to the sea.
Under those conditions, the State of California
assumed responsibility for developing and
implementing a “restoration” program for the
sea, separate from “mitigating” the discrete
impacts of the QSA water transfers.
Another related environmental issue is that
the sea’s shoreline is receding due to factors
unrelated to the QSA, such as Mexico divert-
2
Recognizing the need for water conservation and for ensuring beneficial use of California’s Colorado River supplies, the State Water
Resources Control Board adopted a Revised
Water Rights Order in 2002 that allowed the
nation’s largest agriculture-to-urban water
transfer to move forward. As part of the QSA,
the Water Authority receives up to 200,000
acre-feet annually in water conserved in the
Imperial Valley as part of the Water Authority’s water supply reliability strategy.
Fugitive Dust Drives Air Quality Problems
Projected PM10 Sources in 2047
Imperial County doesn’t meet federal air quality standards
for PM10. Even if no restoration is implemented at the sea
by 2047, pollution from exposed playa would only account
for a small amount of emissions and windblown dust would
continue to drive air quality problems.
The Salton Sea
CVWD agreed to pay $67 million
in nominal dollars as seed money
to jumpstart a state restoration
program. The Water Authority has
fully paid its share of this funding.
Fulfilling a Mitigation Promise
The Water Authority has met
all of its financial commitments
since 2003 and is in compliance
with all state and federal environmental obligations. Most of that
funding has gone toward providing bucket-for-bucket mitigation
The Water Authority has been delivering water to the Salton Sea for
water
to the Salton Sea from
more than a decade to help maintain water levels and give the state
time to formulate and fund a restoration plan.
2003 through 2017 to eliminate
any impact of the water transfers
In addition, Coachella Valley Water
on the sea’s shoreline.
District receives up to 100,000 acre-feet of
JPA funding has also paid for the
conserved water from the Imperial Valley
placement of six stations around the sea
each year. The QSA also facilitated the
to monitor air quality, construction of a
extension of an earlier agreement in which
900-acre managed marsh as new wildlife
the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
habitat and a series of pilot projects to test
California receives 105,000 acre-feet of
the most effective way to address potential
conserved water annually from the Imperial
QSA impacts on the sea when mitigation
Irrigation District.
water deliveries end in 2018.
The 2002 State Board order anticipated
The water agencies’ seed money for
that QSA water transfers would have envirestoration,
which the state placed in the
ronmental impacts, including impacts on the
Salton
Sea
Restoration
Fund, has allowed
Salton Sea. The parties involved in the QSA
shovel-ready projects to move forward.
followed the state’s arduous environmental
Those projects include the construction of
permitting process that established air qualmore than 1,000 acres of new wetlands
ity mitigation measures for the Salton Sea,
and shoreline restoration that began in
which were incorporated by the State Board
and upheld by the State Court of Appeal.
The State Board’s order found that these
Recent Salton Sea News
mitigation measures would prevent substantial harm to the environment. The air quality
The State Water Resources Control Board held a public
mitigation measures have been incorporated
workshop in January 2016 to receive updates on impleinto the mitigation program being implementation of the Salton Sea Management Program.
mented by IID and funded by the JPA, which
Among the reports:
comprises the Water Authority, IID, CVWD
■ Exposed playa is not currently impacting PM10 emisand the State of California.
sions in the Imperial Valley. Elevated emissions are
largely associated with fugitive windblown dust from
As part of the JPA, the three water agenthe desert west of the sea and off-road vehicles, accies committed to pay up to $133 million
cording to the California Air Resources Board.
in 2003 dollars, or $288 million in nominal
dollars. The Water Authority is responsible
■ Flows in the New River at the international boundary have
for approximately 40 percent of those costs.
declined by 40 percent over the past 10 years, due to facUnder state law, mitigation expenses
tors including reduction of agricultural runoff and municipal
above $133 million are the unconditional
wastewater discharged into the river in Mexico, according
responsibility of the State of California.
to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality
Additionally, the Water Authority, IID and
Control Board.
3
Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea
Salton Sea Water Flows
Evaporation
OUTFLOW
Coachella Valley
10% of Total Inflows
QSA Mitigation Water
10% of Total Inflows
Imperial Valley
Agriculture
70% of Total Inflows
ing substantial amounts of water from the
New River for reuse south of the international
border, and changing agricultural practices in
the Imperial Valley.
Attention has recently focused on fugitive
dust that might be created at the sea as a result of the QSA. However, Imperial and eastern Riverside counties – by the nature of their
desert environment – have been designated
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
as areas of non-attainment for dust particles
known as PM10. Windblown dust from the
surrounding desert, dirt roads, off-roading
activities and pollution from Mexico are all
factors in the current non-attainment designation – not the QSA.
Funding a Mitigation Program
Mexico
10% of Total Inflows
Salton Sea water levels are influenced by several sources, including
agricultural runoff, inflows from Mexico, and a small amount of rainwater.
The main loss of water is from evaporation. In 2016, evaporation from
the sea is estimated to be greater than the inflows from all sources.
from the start and set the stage for the state
to make good on its commitment for a restoration program at the sea.
Decades of Environmental Concerns
The sea’s environmental issues pre-date
the QSA by decades. As far back as the
1960s, the sea has been monitored for rising
salinity and selenium levels, two hallmarks
of an inland body of water with no outlets
fed by nutrient-rich agricultural runoff. Long
before the QSA, both state and federal
authorities forecasted a troubled future for
the Salton Sea. In particular, salinity was
expected to eventually threaten fish habitat
even without a reduction of inflows to the sea.
Under those conditions, the State of California
assumed responsibility for developing and
implementing a “restoration” program for the
sea, separate from “mitigating” the discrete
impacts of the QSA water transfers.
Another related environmental issue is that
the sea’s shoreline is receding due to factors
unrelated to the QSA, such as Mexico divert-
2
Recognizing the need for water conservation and for ensuring beneficial use of California’s Colorado River supplies, the State Water
Resources Control Board adopted a Revised
Water Rights Order in 2002 that allowed the
nation’s largest agriculture-to-urban water
transfer to move forward. As part of the QSA,
the Water Authority receives up to 200,000
acre-feet annually in water conserved in the
Imperial Valley as part of the Water Authority’s water supply reliability strategy.
Fugitive Dust Drives Air Quality Problems
Projected PM10 Sources in 2047
Imperial County doesn’t meet federal air quality standards
for PM10. Even if no restoration is implemented at the sea
by 2047, pollution from exposed playa would only account
for a small amount of emissions and windblown dust would
continue to drive air quality problems.
The Salton Sea
CVWD agreed to pay $67 million
in nominal dollars as seed money
to jumpstart a state restoration
program. The Water Authority has
fully paid its share of this funding.
Fulfilling a Mitigation Promise
The Water Authority has met
all of its financial commitments
since 2003 and is in compliance
with all state and federal environmental obligations. Most of that
funding has gone toward providing bucket-for-bucket mitigation
The Water Authority has been delivering water to the Salton Sea for
water
to the Salton Sea from
more than a decade to help maintain water levels and give the state
time to formulate and fund a restoration plan.
2003 through 2017 to eliminate
any impact of the water transfers
In addition, Coachella Valley Water
on the sea’s shoreline.
District receives up to 100,000 acre-feet of
JPA funding has also paid for the
conserved water from the Imperial Valley
placement of six stations around the sea
each year. The QSA also facilitated the
to monitor air quality, construction of a
extension of an earlier agreement in which
900-acre managed marsh as new wildlife
the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
habitat and a series of pilot projects to test
California receives 105,000 acre-feet of
the most effective way to address potential
conserved water annually from the Imperial
QSA impacts on the sea when mitigation
Irrigation District.
water deliveries end in 2018.
The 2002 State Board order anticipated
The water agencies’ seed money for
that QSA water transfers would have envirestoration,
which the state placed in the
ronmental impacts, including impacts on the
Salton
Sea
Restoration
Fund, has allowed
Salton Sea. The parties involved in the QSA
shovel-ready projects to move forward.
followed the state’s arduous environmental
Those projects include the construction of
permitting process that established air qualmore than 1,000 acres of new wetlands
ity mitigation measures for the Salton Sea,
and shoreline restoration that began in
which were incorporated by the State Board
and upheld by the State Court of Appeal.
The State Board’s order found that these
Recent Salton Sea News
mitigation measures would prevent substantial harm to the environment. The air quality
The State Water Resources Control Board held a public
mitigation measures have been incorporated
workshop in January 2016 to receive updates on impleinto the mitigation program being implementation of the Salton Sea Management Program.
mented by IID and funded by the JPA, which
Among the reports:
comprises the Water Authority, IID, CVWD
■ Exposed playa is not currently impacting PM10 emisand the State of California.
sions in the Imperial Valley. Elevated emissions are
largely associated with fugitive windblown dust from
As part of the JPA, the three water agenthe desert west of the sea and off-road vehicles, accies committed to pay up to $133 million
cording to the California Air Resources Board.
in 2003 dollars, or $288 million in nominal
dollars. The Water Authority is responsible
■ Flows in the New River at the international boundary have
for approximately 40 percent of those costs.
declined by 40 percent over the past 10 years, due to facUnder state law, mitigation expenses
tors including reduction of agricultural runoff and municipal
above $133 million are the unconditional
wastewater discharged into the river in Mexico, according
responsibility of the State of California.
to the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality
Additionally, the Water Authority, IID and
Control Board.
3
Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea
early 2016. The water agencies’ money also
funded a feasibility study and financial plan
being developed by the California Natural
Resources Agency and the Salton Sea Authority that will set a path forward for the state to
meet its restoration obligations. That study is
expected to be completed in 2016.
Forging a Path Forward
From the signing of the QSA in 2003, the
Water Authority has advocated for the state
to meet both its mitigation and restoration
obligations. Most recently, the Water Authority urged the creation of a task force that
would oversee restoration efforts and be led
by the Governor’s Office. Gov. Jerry Brown’s
2015 budget created a Salton Sea Task
Force and set aside money to hire a leader of
this effort.
The creation of the state task force is an
indication that the state, after years of stalled
action on the sea, has begun to acknowledge
its obligations under state law created by
legislation passed in 2003. Led by the
assistant secretary for Salton Sea policy,
the task force also consists of representatives from the Natural Resources Agency, the
California Environmental Protection Agency
and related state departments. Meetings with
stakeholders started in 2015.
The Salton Sea
There are other signs of progress at the
state level. Legislation signed in October
2015 sets key milestones for the state to fulfill
its restoration obligations. The legislation
tasked the Natural Resources Agency with
providing a list of “shovel ready” projects,
which is critical to move restoration forward
in a timely manner. The Salton Sea Task Force
has called for the creation of up to 12,000
acres of wetlands and seashore restoration over the next five years, and for work
to begin on an additional 25,000 acres of
restoration by 2020. A science advisory committee is being established to ensure the work
is guided by the best available science.
Another hopeful sign at the sea was the
passage of the statewide ballot measure
Proposition 1 in 2014. It included $475 million for the Natural Resources Agency to provide financial support for a variety of state
settlement obligations, including restoration of
the Salton Sea. The Water Authority joined its
QSA partners and other stakeholders in advocating for projects at the sea to receive as
much of that funding as possible. The governor’s budget for fiscal year 2016-17 includes
$80 million in Proposition 1 funding for Salton
Sea projects that expand habitat and suppress dust at the sea.
In Search of a Sustainable Future
Restoring California’s Water Supply Reliability
DIVERSIFICATION
Enhancing Water
Supply Reliability
The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California, covering about 376 square miles of
Imperial and Riverside counties. It is found in
the Salton Basin, which from the earliest documented history has been periodically filled
with water, most notably ancient Lake Cahuilla. In its current form, the Salton Sea was
created by accident when a dike gave way
and the Colorado River flooded the basin
in 1905.
Since then, the sea has been fed mainly
by agricultural runoff in the New and Alamo
rivers (which start in Mexico and flow through
the Imperial Valley) and the Whitewater River
in the Coachella Valley. Today, the Salton
Sea provides habitat for a wide range of
bird species, including migratory birds on the
Pacific Flyway.
In recent years, questions have surfaced
about the potential impacts on the sea caused
by the Quantification Settlement Agreement,
a historic set of docuAF = acre-foot
ments signed in 2003
One acre-foot is
to reduce California’s
approximately
use of the Colorado
325,900 gallons,
River to its annual
enough to supply
two single-family
allotment of 4.4 milhouseholds of four
lion acre-feet largely
for a year.
through water conservation-and-transfer
agreements.
The QSA provides the state with a means to
manage its Colorado River supplies through a
water conservation program funded largely by
the San Diego County Water Authority. Related
efforts by the Water Authority and its partnering agencies (Coachella Valley Water District
and Imperial Irrigation District) to provide environmental funding under the QSA Joint Powers
Authority are a critical component of the sea’s
future. Through that ongoing effort, the JPA has
mitigated the impacts of the water transfers
Sustained Federal Action is Needed
Mitigation & Restoration Projects
Recent efforts by the State of California to
develop the Salton Sea Management Program provides a path toward a smaller, but
more sustainable, Salton Sea. As a primary
landowner at the sea and an entity with a
vested interest in the continued success of the
QSA, the federal government should continue to support this effort and help pay for
ongoing restoration initiatives.
Recent progress includes:
■ In August 2016, the U.S. Department of
the Interior and the California Department of Natural Resources signed a
memorandum of understanding regarding coordination of activities to manage
the Salton Sea. A federal investment of
$30 million is the latest critical funding piece for near-term and mid-term
projects.
4677 Overland Ave.
San Diego, California
92123-1233
858.522.6700
Salton Sea Mitigation
and Restoration Sites
sdcwa.org
QSA Mitigation Projects
Current Restoration Projects
@sdcwa
Printed on recycled paper
■ In September 2016, the U.S. Senate
approved S. 2848, the Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) of 2016. The
bill maintains the current authorization of
$30 million for the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers at the Salton Sea. It also
changes the status of pilot projects from
“temporary” to “permanent.” The Water
Authority supports the Senate’s Salton
Sea provision.
■ The U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure also approved its
version of WRDA, H.R. 5303, in September 2016. The full House is expected
to vote on the bill soon after Election
Day. A conference committee would then
reconcile differences between the House
and Senate bills.
Several mitigation and restoration projects supported by the Water Authority are under way in the Salton Sea Basin.
4
October 2016
The San Diego County Water Authority sustains a $222 billion regional economy and the quality of life for 3.3 million residents
through a multi-decade water supply diversification plan, major infrastructure investments and forward-thinking policies that
promote fiscal and environmental responsibility. A public agency created in 1944, the Water Authority delivers wholesale water
supplies to 24 retail water providers, including cities, special districts and a military base.