If an inland salt water lake 35 miles long and 15 miles wide dried up, releasing toxic dust and reeking odors for 100-150 miles around into highly populated and wealthy areas, then that would be apocalyptic. That’s exactly what will happen if the Salton Sea in southern California dries up after 2017, if a new agreement isn’t reached with agriculture there. Farmers are being paid to fallow their land and let their water allotments from the Colorado River flow into the Salton Sea. That agreement expires the end on 2017.
After 2017, the [Salton Sea] “falls off a cliff environmentally.” Toxic dust storms will increase markedly, and so will the chances of a rotten egg smell routinely wafting over much of coastal Southern California.
Oh, I bet California beach cities will definitely start howling for action then, as their air fouls, tourists go elsewhere, and property values drop. However, by then it’ll be too late. The howling for actions needs to start now.
Lack of action will have a devastating impact on the public health and economy of the region, the board was told.
Six months later, the board had done nothing.
In addition to a new agreement, the Salton Sea needs massive help to prevent further deterioration. The problem is, doing so will cost billions.
“The amount of water flowing to the Salton Sea will soon decrease dramatically, with rapid and catastrophic consequences,” Cohen wrote. “Fish will die out. Birds will lose their food source. The lake will shrink and the exposed lake bed will emit large amounts of disease-causing dust unless action is taken quickly.”