A new study has identified the cause of the lake's water loss. In the last 25 years, the Salton Sea, California's most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water. According to a new study, the reason for the decline is a reduction in Colorado River flow. As the lake dries up, the concen
View from the Salton City Yacht Club. Credit: Stan Lim/UCR
“There is less water coming from the Colorado River into the Sea, and that is driving the problem,” said Hoori Ajami, UCR hydrologist, study co-author, and principal investigator. This finding, and the methods used to obtain it, were recently published in the journalThe researchers took into account the important factors influencing the water balance of an endorheic lake, like the Salton Sea, where water flows in but not out to any tributaries.
Data for the model was hard to come by as this is a transboundary basin on the US-Mexico border between California and Baja California Norte, and stakeholders may have been reluctant to share data that could alter previously earned water rights. However, using publicly available data and data mining techniques, UCR researchers were able to simulate long-term water balance dynamics and identify reduced Colorado River flows as the main cause of the Salton Sea shrinking.
Despite that lingering ambiguity, the researchers say the study should send a message to water management agencies and lawmakers that the Salton Sea watershed should be considered part of the Colorado River basin.
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