Water Education Foundation

This week in the blogosphere …

Posted by: Maven on May 15, 2007 at 2:58 pm

This week’s travels through cyberspace have netted a few interesting blogs …

New California homes for sale! 1300 square feet for only $149,999! Where can you get such a deal? Why, next to the Salton Sea, of course! Here’s a realtor’s blog who writes:

Salton City is exploding with growth with the new Torrez-Martinez Casino scheduled to be opened by Febuary 2007, and the Salton Sea Authority is getting closer to making the final descision on the future of the Salton Sea. There is a lot of Contreversey on the clean up of the sea, well what we do know is that it will be done , because of the enviromental disaster that will happen if the sea is not cleaned or sustained. Salton City is the last city to develop in the valley. All the streets are paved and utilities are in place. With construction at full force its only a matter of time till it all comes together.

Hmmm… Aqua Blog Maven thinks that Realtor Joe may be a little over-optimistic about something being done to save the sea … But I wish Realtor Joe and his lovely wife good luck selling those homes!!!

Want to see what kind of place you’ll be living in for that price? Here’s a blog with a link to a YouTube video of someone who filmed a little bit of the Salton Sea area: click here.

Here’s a blog about saving the Salton Sea from the Ross Report: In response to this potential environmental disaster, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, (‘Salton Sea is at a crucial juncture’) the [California Department of Water Resources] has drawn up a 75-year, $6-billion draft plan [which] calls for a less salty sea about one-sixth its current size, a series of ponds for habitat restoration and up to 70 miles of canals and barriers. Assuming the state legislature gets around to approving the very expensive plan, it would still take many years to implement, more than time enough for birds who have used it as a stopover on the Pacific Flyway to disappear — because the fish they feed on have disappeared also.

While you’re on your way out to visit your new home, here’s an interesting place to stop at: ugh, 4am drive from mexicali last night – groan – almost forgot about in ko pah – high above the imperial valley desert, about 80 miles east on the 8 from San Diego, before the drop from san diego county into the imperial valley desert stands a magestic and magical part of san diego – the in-ko-pah desert tower and the “mystery caves”. take the “in-ko-pah” exit and follow the signs..

In other blog news:

Mayor Sam’s backyard posted this, from Gary L. Toebben of the LA Chamber of Commerce, regarding the need to fix levees:

All of California needs a solution that provides a consistent and stable source of reasonably priced water in order to sustain our population and forecasted growth. We cannot let our fellow Californians forget that they have as much to lose as we do in the south if there ever should be a delta collapse. Both the Bay Area and the Central Valley receive about a third of their water from the delta, just as we do. We will all feel the pain in a delta catastrophe as it sinks California’s economy by an estimated $70 billion.

Here’s a blogger that agrees with him. From the California Greening blog: The Metropolitan Water District is playing with your future. In an action that I can only define as stupid, they have chosen to take a chance that the California Delta area will never have a major earthquake. Maybe they should ask the people of Northridge if that is a good bet. A recent (04/26/07) report by Alex Breitler of the Stockton Record gives the full background on this decision. They have decided that it better to let any earthquake happen and then fix the Delta Levees rather than taking steps not to shore up the levees in anticipation that such a quake will happen.

May 15, 2007 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives

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Water news and opinions from the blogosphere

Posted by: Maven on May 3, 2007 at 10:51 pm

In a new weekly Aquafornia feature, Aqua Blog Maven will travel the blogosphere, looking for any blogs discussing the water issues. And this week, many were found!

Note: These blogs represent various opinions from bloggers around the area, and do not necessarily represent the views of Aquafornia.

Here’s a run down:

Here’s a blog about the Salton Sea and water issues, called: Across the Great Divide: A Shrinking Sea, a Tipping Balance. The writer says: The news report on the endangered Salton Sea, barely 100 years old, is far more than a tale of potential environmental loss. It is a preview of a much greater looming disaster — one that would make an al-Qaeda nuclear bomb inside the U.S. look puny in comparison. That’s because no nuke could devastate and depopulate the southwestern United States the way reduced snow melt, combined with increased settlement of the region would do. Click here to read the “Across the Great Divide” blog.

For some pictures of the Salton Sea area, click here to visit “The Occasional Odd Crop” blog (follow the link in the text for even more photos, including a Flintstone house), and the California Energy Blog has a blog about geothermal energy in the Salton Sea area, although his one commentor does not agree.

Here’s a blog which was posted last week about the All-American Canal lining project, and here is a Nevada blog with some interesting links regarding the water supply in the southwest. Here is a blog which appears to come from the southwest with some very interesting ideas about how to solve water and climate change issues.

Turning to the north, here is Meagan’s blog discussing Central Valley water issues, and the Parkway Weblog is discussing the Delta pumps issue, as is the Technocrat blog.

Here is a blog about the restoration of the Owens River. It’s a little old but still recent enough to be relevant. Aqua Blog Maven is surpised that so little is ever said of the Owens Valley.

And lastly, here is Mayor Sam’s blog about the Delta pumps shutoff. (Note: you may need to scroll up to the top of the page to read the story.)

Aqua Blog Maven would like to thank Mayor Sam for noticing – It’s about time somebody down here did notice, as the majority of the residents probably won’t pay any attention until their tap runs dry!

May 3, 2007 · Filed Under Aquafornia News & Exclusives

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Salton Sea – national press, bloggers, and residents weigh in

Posted by: Maven on May 1, 2007 at 2:33 pm

Here’s an article on the Salton Sea issue from the Associated Press that seems to be going across the nation. Recently, the Desert Sun in Palm Springs ran a three-day series of articles on the Salton Sea.

Basically, the issue in a nutshell is this: California has been using more than it’s entitlement of the Colorado River water, and has been forced to reduce its draw from the river to what it is legally entitled to – 4.4 million acre-feet. In order to meet this obligation, the IID has had to cutback on the amount of water used for irrigation in the Imperial Valley. This reduction in irrigation means there is less water going into the Salton Sea, which had been depending on agricultural drainage to sustain itself.

The Salton Sea is 25% saltier than the ocean, but nonetheless, has become an important stopover and wildlife habitat for migrating birds, who have seen their wetlands and habitat diminish due to increasing urbanization of the west coast. There once was a vibrant delta where the Colorado River meets the sea, but now during many months of the year, the river doesn’t even reach that far.

If the Salton Sea is allowed to dry up, particulate matter, dust, and toxins from the agricultural drainage will dry up and be blown around, creating a public health hazard for the region. One need only to look towards the dried Owens Lake and the dust problems now being mitigated by DWP to understand why residents are concerned.

Here is a link to a blog written by Ecogrrl – it will really give you a sense of what this place is like.

Some residents are asking why a pipeline can’t be built from the Sea of Cortez to bring ocean water to the Salton Sea? Check out the letters to the editor for April 29th and May 1st.

Finally, here is the Desert Sun’s editorial, urging residents to act now and do what they can to help save the Salton Sea.

May 1, 2007 · Filed Under Salton Sea

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