Snub for the Salton Sea

Three years ago, the Clinton administration declared that the Salton Sea was “an important natural resource for people and wildlife alike and we must act to save it.” This month, the Bush administration essentially told Californians to either forget about that rescue or come up with the $1 billion or so it might take.

This was a double dose of salt in the wound. First, the desert sea in Imperial and Riverside counties has become a vital annual stop for millions of migrating birds, including some that are threatened or endangered. Second, the federal government and six other Colorado River Basin states made stabilizing the sea a critical component of their 15-year agreement to restore California’s share of Colorado River water.

Word of the about-face came in an Interior Department accounting of several ongoing studies on how to save the sea. “This report,” wrote an Interior Department official, “does not make any recommendations or reach any conclusions with respect to whether an investment of $1 billion would be prudent in light of other national priorities.”

The report does, however, say irrigation inflow into the sea will decline in future years, presumably dooming the lake as it becomes too salty to support fish or wildlife. The Bush administration seems content to let that happen. The studies ordered by Congress now just sit on a shelf.

It’s not surprising that some people have a hard time getting worked up over saving the Salton Sea, which is no natural wonder but rather the product of a modern mishap. In 1905, the Colorado River broke through its banks and flowed into an ancient lake bed. Farmers, with the help of Southern Pacific Railroad, restored the river to its banks after an 18-month struggle. But the oval-shaped sea remained there at 200 feet below sea level and now covers 365 square miles, about half the size of Orange County.

Today, the only inflow to the sea is irrigation runoff, mostly from the giant Imperial Irrigation District but also from farms in Mexico. A proposed trade in which water from Imperial farms would have gone to the cities of San Diego County would have reduced that runoff. Under state law, Imperial could have been held liable for any environmental damage the diversion caused the sea.

It never made sense for a farm district to bear responsibility for this national and state asset, and when Imperial failed to get the protection it sought, the water deal collapsed. As a result, the Interior Department cut back Colorado River flows to California by 620,000 acre-feet a year, enough for 1.2 million households.

Gov. Gray Davis has led efforts to revive the Imperial-San Diego water trade and restore the full Colorado flow to California. The governor’s office and others involved should keep the talks going until the deal is achieved -- and without putting the fate of the Salton Sea on the backs of Imperial farmers. Then the state should work with the federal government to find ways to keep water flowing to the Salton Sea before it becomes a mirage.