Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/659479
area into approximately 30 sections, each of which has di erent needs, and they've looked at di erent ways of addressing those needs. Finally, just in the last year or two, the DWP and en- vironmentalists have met and discussed wa- ter-saving ideas, such as building habitats for birds along what is a ma- jor stopping point on the Paci c Flyway. e Paci c Flyway also passes over anoth- er desert body of water, the Salton Sea. Like Ow- ens Lake and the Owens Valley, the Salton Sea is also crucially a ected by water or the lack of it—a situation that greatly a ects Los Angeles. While over the centuries ve di erent lakes occupied the Salton Sea area, the sea as we know it was created in 1905 when the Colorado River broke through irriga- tion diversion canals and ooded the shallow Mojave Desert area not far from Palm Springs. "Owens Lake and the Salton Sea have similar problems, although the Salton Sea is the larger and more potentially dangerous situation," Refeto notes. As it dries, the Salton Sea becomes an extremely large source of particulate pollution, leaving airborne dust high in dangerous compounds. "We're looking a numbers like $11 billion dollars to x the situation, but if it isn't xed, the pollution and the health problems it will cause will af- fect far more than just the im- mediate area around the Salton Sea," Refeto states. In fact, the same complaint of hazardous wind-borne soil and grit is of- ten registered in the Owens Valley, where it's o en blamed on L.A. swimming pools hog- ging the water supply. Solutions that are easing the situation around Owens Lake could come into play with the Salton Sea. In the Lone Pine area, a mountain is literally being moved: small broken rocks are being used to cover the dusty sur- face areas of the dry lake, and plans are being made to put a solar pilot project on that surface, assuming dust toxicity is reduced signi cantly enough that solar equipment will not be damaged. Experimenting with di erent types of plants and underground irriga- tion is also helping. "We've had people come up from Salton Sea area to look at what we have done, and to consider options such as dividing the Salton Sea into di erent small areas with individual solutions, as has been done in the Owens Valley," Langley says. Another plan for the Salton Sea is to create a ca- nal from the Paci c Ocean into the sea: ocean water is, amazingly, less saline than the Salton Sea. Such a plan could return the area to the recreational spot it was in the 1920s through 1950s, and bring water sports, sh- ing and development back into the area. Along with preserving the desert and its water supplies for ecological reasons, it is vitally important to preserve the history and cul- ture of the desert, and its beauty. e desert is a recre- ation haven and tourist destination, but it is also a place where people are able to nd solitude and spiritual solace. " e desert should be treat- ed with care as a national trea- sure," says Langley, "as some- thing of incalculable value to Los Angeles, and to Cal- ifornia as a state. We want to make sure it will be there for our children and our grandchildren." CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 24 wholelifetimes.com