Restoration of the Salton Sea : A Stakeholder Engagement Model for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The Salton Sea is a shallow highly saline water body that lies within the Salton Trough and stretches across Riverside and Imperial counties in southern California. Geological records suggest that for thousands of years seasonal flooding from the Colorado River produced multiple natural endorheic lakes in the area. Endorheic lakes have no outflows and because they lose water through evaporation, tend to be highly saline. In the late 1800s, canals were created to turn the area into farmland. Due to a breach in the Alamo Canal in 1905, spring floodwaters from the Colorado River flowed into the basin for 18 months, creating the Salton Sea. By the 1940s and 50s, the Salton Sea was sustained by runoff from agricultural fields in the Imperial Coachella Valleys.