Court case highlights questions about Salton Sea's future

[n2doc]

By Louis Sahagun and Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
November 19, 2011, 6:03 p.m.
Over the last five years, the Salton Sea's shoreline has been steadily receding into the desert, creating a "bathtub ring" of exposed lake bed around the 360-square-mile body of murky water that straddles Imperial and Riverside counties.

Once, it was one of the most productive fisheries and wildlife habitats in the state, but the shrinking Salton Sea has hit hard times.

Along with imperiling the fish that live in the hyper-saline water and the migratory birds that stop along their annual journey, the shrinkage exposes a pesticide-laden lake bed that could contribute to the dust storms that have given the region some of the dirtiest air in California.

On Monday, an appeals court will hear arguments over the legality of a 2003 water deal that environmentalists and some Imperial Valley officials say poses a serious threat to the sea's future if agricultural runoff to it is reduced. The 75-year pact allows the Imperial Irrigation District to transfer some of its massive share of the Colorado River to the San Diego County Water Authority.

more

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-salton-sea-20111119,0,351715.story

[hunter]

1. San Diego County...

... ugh

Water it and it grows like kudzu.