The Biden-Harris administration last week announced $72 million "to accelerate restoration" of the Salton Sea in Southern California.
The funding will help implement the 10-year Salton Sea Management Plan for dust suppression, aquatic restoration and water conservation efforts.
Of the funds, $70 million will go to the state of California for the Species Conservation Habitat Project, and the remaining $2 will go to the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians over five years.
To date, according to a release from the U.S. Department of the Interior, "the Inflation Reduction Act investment complements the $583 million in state funding committed ... for Salton Sea projects."
The lake was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River overflowed, which resulted in a resort destination that crumbled into environmental collapse. The lake, the largest in California, is fed by the state's Imperial Valley.
“It’s kind of a linchpin for the action we need to see on the Colorado River,” Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary, told the Associated Press in November. “Finally we are all in agreement that we can’t leave the Salton Sea on the cutting room floor, we can’t take these conservation actions — these extraordinary measures — at the expense of these residents.”
The lake is about five hours southwest of Las Vegas.
