SALTON SEA SUMMIT
UC RIVERSIDE/ PALM DESERT CAMPUS - OCTOBER 17-18, 2019
AIR SESSION Q&A
Q1 - What fraction of the dust is actually from the playa? Isn't the surrounding desert a contributing source of the dust? Why don't we study that dust more? (Anonymous)
A - Amato Evan: Great question, but unfortunately one we can’t yet answer with certainty (in my opinion). If I remember correctly, Formation Environmental estimated that something like 1% (or less) of the dust emitted from the larger region came from the dry playa. I’m hoping that UC Dust will be able to generate an independent estimate of the flux of dust coming from the playa over the next couple years. My intuition is that this will be in the 1-10% range. However, I think that more important than the total amount of dust coming off the playa is how the composition (and health impacts) of that dust may be different from dust from other sources.
Q2 - During Mohammad’s talk, he said Selenium is a Salton Sea marker. In the water talks, Se wasn’t accumulating so why is it an aerosol marker from the salton sea? (Raymond Leibensperger)
A - Mohammad Sowlat: In a previous source apportionment study by UCR (link below), Se was identified as a tracer for Salton Sea emissions, due to Se volatilization from the water column/sediments and condensation onto PM.
For more details, refer to this paper.
Q3 - Why are you not collecting data in Imperial County, which is downwind much of the year as prevailing winds from the NW blow across the Sea and exposed lakebed? (Sowlat) (Jenny E. Ross)
A - Mohammad Sowlat: This project was conducted as part of AB 617 Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) implementation in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) community. All the data collection as part of this project was done at the Mecca Station, which is located at the heart of the ECV community. Imperial County is outside of the boundary of the ECV community, and is also outside of South Coast AQMD’s jurisdiction.
Q4 - The August 2022 episode occurred with low wind speeds during the highest PM10 peak. Have you investigated the potential of localized source influence? (Sowlat) (Earl Withycombe)
A - Mohammad Sowlat: I appreciate the comment and pointing this out. A local source, depending on proximity, could potentially result in high readings, but might be unlikely to have such a significant impact on PM levels.
We will definitely look at this event closer. We are still in the data analysis phase and we will certainly investigate local source impacts for events like this. I should also mention that our wind data analysis is not just limited to looking at wind speed and direction, but we also perform more advanced modeling (i.e., backward trajectory analysis) to indicate where the air masses have been originating. This modeling effort provides more detailed information as to the potential sources.
Q5 - How do you separate dust originating from the playa and from regions between the playa and Mecca station? Only using wind direction? (Sowlat) (Anonymous)
A - Mohammad Sowlat: It is very challenging to distinguish impacts from different sources in the same direction but at different distances. But I should also mention that our wind data analysis is not just limited to looking at wind speed and direction, but we also perform more advanced modeling (i.e., backward trajectory analysis) to indicate where the air masses originate from. This modeling effort provides more detailed information as to the potential sources. A combination of wind data analysis and chemical composition analysis should hopefully help distinguish between such sources, because even though they might come from the same direction, they might have different chemical fingerprints.
Q6 - Interested to learn the relative magnitude of “anthropogenic” particulates vs those from desert. How might WCV cities think about controlling those? (Sowlat) (Anonymous)
A - Mohammad Sowlat: Understanding the relative importance of different sources (including anthropogenic (which might be a combination of a few different sources)) and desert PM is one of the outcomes of this study, and we will know more as the source apportionment study comes to a conclusion. The anthropogenic and natural emissions from deserts have unique chemical signature and that source apportionment analysis can quantify contribution from each source based on those chemicalmarkers.
Q7 - We hear about playa and road emissions, but nothing about the dust coming from agricultural fields when they are fallow or when they are tilling the land. (Sienna Thomas)
A - Amato Evan: There is for sure dust associated with agricultural activity, including fallowed land, and I had inadvertently not mentioned this during my talk. However, the amount of dust coming from agricultural lands is a big unknown. Here and in general. We (UC Dust) have a plan on how to estimate this, but the work is dependent on finding the resources needed to carry out the work.
A - Mohammad Sowlat: Thanks for the note. I believe this is also one of the potential sources of PM in the area. Depending on the extent of its contribution, it may be identified as a separate source in our source apportionment analysis, but if it does not show a distinct seasonal/directional/compositional pattern, our model may not be able to resolve it as a separate source (one of the limitations of this type of modeling effort).
Q8 - Will the "Dust Forecast" be considering co-factors such as non-chemical stressors (ex: extreme heat), or somehow include cumulative risks? (Lily Wu)
A - Amato Evan: Hi Lily! Thanks for the question. We are planning to develop guidelines for risk mitigation to go along with the forecasts, but haven’t yet fleshed out what this would include. Identifying those cofactors is an excellent idea, especially heat. I should also mention that we are planning to do research over the next 2-3 years that is intended to identify relevant co-factors.
Q9 - Are dust storms getting worse, larger, longer, more extreme over time with climate change? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Amato Evan: The latest research suggests that dust storms in the west are worsening with climate change. I think the main reason is because the warming air results in drier air, which reduces soil moisture and vegetation cover, both of which lead to an increase in wind blown dust.
Q10 - How do you define dust events? Is that similar to the PM10 exceedance defined by EPA? (Anonymous)
A - Amato Evan: We used data from several sources to identify dust events, including high wind speeds, visual confirmation from a round shot camera, vertical extinction profile from the field site LiDAR, retrievals from the site AERONET station, and then the PM10 measurements. More details are in this paper.
Q11 - What is the start date to study Salton Sea aerosols? Will the data be published online and available to the general public? (Leibensperger) (Jasmyn Phillips)
A - Raymond Leibensperger III: We currently do not have a specific start date for our Salton Sea lake spray aerosol study. We are currently optimizing the instrument we hope to deploy to the Salton Sea region and figuring out logistics. We hope to share results with the general public and Salton Sea research community as we take them, but will at least be available upon completion of the scientific peer-review process.
Q12 - William Porter's presentation: Has this research been peer reviewed? (Anonymous)
A - Will Porter: The research I presented on surface-specific dust impacts on respiratory hospitalizations was accepted for publication in November and can now be found in Environmental Research: Health.
Miao, Y., Porter, W. C., Benmarhnia, T., Lowe, C., Lyons, T. W., Hung, C., and Diamond, C.: Source-specific acute cardio-respiratory effects of ambient coarse particulate matter exposure in California’s Salton Sea region, Environ. Res.: Health, 3, 015006, https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ad934a, 2025.
Q13 - What is the accuracy of HYSPLIT to be able to accurately identify the ~1% contribution from Salton Sea? And use that info to perform correlation analysis? (Anonymous)
A - Will Porter: This is definitely a fair concern, and we are making no claims about HYSPLIT's ability to give finely resolved details about air mass paths. That said, we do trust HYSPLIT to make broad distinctions between back trajectory paths that overlapped with a massive target like the Salton Sea and those that do not, and it has been used successfully for that kind of categorization many times throughout the atmospheric literature.
Q14 - Instead of hospitalizations, could you use school nurse visits to better estimate the effect to children regardless of their at home resources (Anonymous)
A - Will Porter: This is a great suggestion. For our analyses we would just need to have many years of that data close to our dust observations, and I'm not aware of a source for that data. If you do know where to find it, please drop me an email!
Q15 - Question for William Porter on the home made filter for my home. Can you please send me a diagram with measurements for the filter. Thanks (Ruben Arias Jr.)
A - Will Porter: Absolutely! Here are some links that I hope you find helpful. Feel free to drop me an email as well if you'd like more support (wporter@ucr.edu).
How to build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box (Mladenovic and Taneja)
Science in Action: How to Build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box (UC Davis)
DIY box fan filters – Corsi-Rosenthal box (Clean Air Crew)
Q16 - Would you expect the level of LPS to be similar to Salton Sea levels surrounding a similar hypersaline environment? Will you be testing this? (Anonymous)
A - SSTF: This is an extremely new finding and currently we do not know the answer to this question. If funding is available in the future, we will explore the answer to this question.
WATER SESSION Q&A
Q1 - What would the state of the basin be if the 1905 flood event had not occurred? Would we still have a “sea” fed by agricultural runoff? (Anonymous)
A - Kurt Schwabe: Difficult to say. Irrigated agriculture would need some place to dispose of drainage. The Sea basin presented a nearby opportunity. But, it is difficult to say how over time irrigated AG would dispose of drainage. And this isn't an issue with just IID, addressing drain water is a significant challenge in other parts of the state (e.g., westside of San Joaquin Valley) and globally.
Q2 - What is the natural state of the basin without any human disturbance over the past couple centuries? Would it be filled with water, or completely dried up today (Anonymous)
A - Kurt Schwabe: Good question. While I'm not a historian, there’s increasing evidence that the basin had significant amounts of water in it over the past couple centuries (see, e.g., Bailey and Aubury, 1902; Ross, 2020; Rockwell et al., 2022). Since there are factors that have changed since it filled up in the early 20th century that might affect the degree to which it contains water today, particularly with respect to the harnessing and overallocation of the Colorado River natural flows, it’s difficult to say what state the basin would be in currently.
Q3 - Is it definitively known that the salton sea lake level declines are a result of decreases in inflows from ag? Where's the watershed water budget (sw and gw) (Anonymous)
A - Hoori Ajami: It is definitely known that the Salton Sea level declined due to decreases in the Colorado River inflows. Please check out our paper for the detailed watershed balance.
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Acero Triana, J. S., H. Ajami. 2022. Identifying Major Hydrologic Change Drivers in a Highly Managed Transboundary Endorheic Basin: Integrating Hydro-ecological Models and Time-Series Data Mining Techniques. Water Resources Research, 58, e2022WR032281. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032281
Q4 - Several models have overestimated the predicted exposed playa that we are currently seeing. What did those models get wrong and how does your model address that? (Anonymous)
A - Hoori Ajami: Those models only look at the lake water balance rather than taking the watershed approach. We also need to consider all the components of the water balance for the lake including groundwater inflow and outflow. Current models assume the state of equilibrium while the GW flow is impacted by pumping too.
Q5 - Does the watershed water balance model account for the water management/policy decisions on the Colorado River that have an impact on the inflows to the Sea? (Anonymous)
A - Hoori Ajami: The model uses observed inflows from the All American Canal and Morelos dam to estimate the Salton Sea water budget. Therefore, Colorado river water management has incorporated. However, future projections highly depend on the projected inflows at the two sites. We have an active project with colleagues in the School of Public Policy to estimate future Colorado river flows using a hydro economic model that incorporates both natural flow and water management practices.
Q6 - What data would you want that is not currently available? (Anonymous)
A - Hoori Ajami: Applied irrigation, groundwater pumping rates, cropping patterns, detailed managed aquifer recharge deliveries, drain inflows, flow from the East Highland canal.
Q7 - That SWAT model doesn't include geology and conceptual understanding of GW flow. How can you claim to quantify groundwater when it only models GW as a bucket (Anonymous)
A - Hoori Ajami: That is correct. SWAT has a conceptual groundwater model. That is why I mentioned uncertainty with groundwater budget estimates from the model and the need to couple SWAT with a groundwater flow model such as MODFLOW. Having said that, we represent the lake water balance and calibrate lake level to water level and evaporation measurements. Accuracy of the models depends on the quality of input data.
Q8 - On Dr. Ajami’s talk - can you go more into how the groundwater losses were estimated? (Barbara Barry)
A - Hoori Ajami: We are using streamflow, potential evapotranspiration and yield data to evaluate our model. Groundwater estimates have uncertainties given the simplified representation of the aquifer. I encourage you to check out our paper. I am happy to discuss more details.
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Acero Triana, J. S., H. Ajami. 2022. Identifying Major Hydrologic Change Drivers in a Highly Managed Transboundary Endorheic Basin: Integrating Hydro-ecological Models and Time-Series Data Mining Techniques. Water Resources Research, 58, e2022WR032281. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032281
Q9 - To what extent are the blooms harmful algae blooms? (Anonymous)
A - Caroline Hung: Algal blooms are in some ways natural. But when fueled with excess nutrients and dependent on seasonal controls (e.g. temperature), they could grow fast and 1) produce toxins; require more sampling and testing or look at data that have already been collected, as well as 2) render the water column sub- and/or anoxic due to the decayal process that consumes oxygen.
Q10 - During Caroline’s talk, the dissolved oxygen depth profiles show a rare extreme for 2020. What defines this rare extreme? Is it a single day or some event? (Raymond Leibensperger)
A - Caroline Hung: “Rare extreme” is referred to as when the water column of the Salton Sea is mixed and is almost completely anoxic (without oxygen) from the surface to the bottom of the lake water column. This is in contrast to partial anoxia, where only the bottom of the lake is without oxygen. These “rare extreme” periods can span a few days to weeks, depending on the physical (wind, temperature) conditions at the lake.
Q11 - Would algal blooms occur naturally in the Salton Sea without agricultural inflows of nutrients? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: It is unlikely that there would be naturally occurring algal blooms without nutrients. The excess nutrients make bacteria grow in large amounts. In addition to algal blooms, there have been gypsum blooms, which look similar but are geochemical and not biological. Those may still happen without extra agricultural nutrients, but as the chemistry changes these gypsum blooms may not happen anymore.
Q12 - Are the CA and IID water allocations inclusive or separate? Put another way, is the 3.1 MAF to IID included in the CA total? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Kurt Schwabe: IID's allocation makes up part of California's 4.4 MAF
Q13 - What were dissolved oxygen levels for September, October, and November? And for the year overall? (Hung) (Anonymous)
A - Caroline Hung: You can check Figure 5 of this publication to see the averaged dissolved oxygen levels in the Fall from 2004-2022.
Q14 - How does water quality monitoring differ at Salton Sea compared to other eutrophic water bodies? (Virginia Gewin)
A- Caroline Hung: Since the rapidly receding lake levels and changes in funding, it is physically hard to get onto the lake, rendering previous government and/or academic efforts to monitor water quality inactive. We, along with other community groups, have continued to monitor water quality. We are applying for funding to deploy a continuous water quality monitoring buoy/station at the Salton Sea, which other well-monitored eutrophic water bodies (that are hard to access, as opposed to say a pond on a golf course) have.
Q15 - I’m confused about the sulfide releases and declines in extremes of that and what the implications of that are for human and environmental health. (Jennifer Prado)
A- Caroline Hung: Salton Sea is an extremely dynamic system- meaning that there could be changes over a day, to over a week, month, seasonally, etc. Because the Salton Sea is shallow and mixing more, sulfide releases would be less extreme, because it doesn’t have the chance to accumulate, then be released. The implications for human health (quality of life- sulfide at ppb levels should not lead to serious illnesses) is that we expect less sulfide than the last decade. The implications for the environment is that the Salton Sea is still not suitable for fish, because there are still sulfide releases and often no oxygen.
Q16 - What is the impact of natural geothermal (volcanic) inputs on Salton Sea biogeochemistry, including sulfur? (Anonymous)
A- Caroline Hung: This is a good question currently in the compilation phase after we use isotope tracers for sulfur to track any influences from natural geothermal inputs. We will have better answers once the compilation is complete.
Q17 - Do the depth profiles of pesticides represent the time history of the use of pesticides? (Diamond) (Anonymous)
A- Caroline Hung: Yes, in some ways/to an extent. However, the depth profiles often also represent the complex cycling and interactions within the sediment body related to changing availability of oxygen and the presence of different microbial activity.
Q18 - Are Synechococcus the most dominant cyanobacteria in the Salton Sea? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: In the one location that we sampled for that year of sampling, yes they were.
Q19 - Does arid soil dust, in the absence of playa dust deposition, contain many of the bacteria species found in playa dust? (Earl Withycombe)
A - Emma Aronson: That is an excellent question. Our methods are very advanced and there are not many studies to compare our data to. We have been finding some bacteria in the aerosols that are in much dust everywhere, but other bacteria appear to be unique to the Salton Sea region.
Q20 - The reason for the QSA water transfer was omitted. Why was it implemented? (Anonymous)
A - Kurt Schwabe: The QSA was implemented as a measure to bring California to reduce its use of Colorado River Allocations from 5.2 MAF down to its 4.4 MAF permanent allocation. Under the Colorado River rules, California had access to half of surplus flows (which existed since some other basin states weren't using their full Allocations, but wanted to start using /storing them). A problem with CA going down to 4.4 is that San Diego would lose access (although they could get access through MWD as a member agency). So the QSA was implemented and consisted of IID transferring water to San Diego (San Diego County Water Authority).
Q21 - Even if nutrients from ag runoff were decreased immediately, how quickly would the Salton Sea eutrophication level respond? (Virginia Gewin)
A - Emma Aronson: It is hard to know how quickly it would respond, unless the Sea water was also treated, like with wetlands or more active treatment. The sediment nutrients may cycle into the water when it is mixed, adding nutrients over a long time into the future. This is a good question and one that deserves further study.
Q22 - Given all the bacteria identified, Have you detected human pathogens in the water? (Kenneth McDowell)
A - Emma Aronson: Yes, but at very low levels. Likely they came from wastewater inflows into the Sea. However, just because a human pathogen is found in the Sea doesn’t mean that it is prevalent enough to impact humans, or is causing any current health issues.
Q23 - Likely more agricultural waste remains in the soil than runs off. Is agricultural dust from the crop lands a bigger problem than the Salton Sea playa? (Kenneth McDowell)
A- Caroline Hung: Pollutants and microbes get mobilized through the ecosystem - if pollutants were to enter the Salton Sea, it could, say, increase the growth of certain microbes, and get mobilized into the air via seaspray. The problem with the Salton Sea, the lake and exposed playa, is that it has accumulated pollutants over the last century through agricultural runoff, so the problem is potentially amplified. However, more research is needed to quantify the predominant problems from toxicity, emissivity to impact on public health.
Q24 - It was mentioned that the Salton Sea is not subject to the Clean Water Act because of its designation as an agricultural sump - is that really the case? (Alida Cantor)
A- Caroline Hung: Clean Water Act does not regulate non-point source pollution. As agricultural run-off into the Salton Sea is non-point sourced, this means that this problem cannot be regulated by the Clean Water Act. Further, under the Clean Water Act, agricultural wastewater collection cannot be designated as a beneficial use.
Q25 - Talks yesterday and echoed today said concentration of nutrients flowing into the sea is increasing. What is the scientific basis for that statement? (Anonymous)
A- Caroline Hung: The scientific basis for external nutrient loading is based on data collected by government agencies and independent groups, mainly the Bureau of Reclamation. External nutrient loading has not increased per say, but because some nutrients accumulate and gets loaded internally in the summer conditions (no permanent removal pathway), the impacts for water quality surely has continued to deteriorate.
HEALTH SESSION Q&A
Q1 - Does research show that the chemicals and toxins in the salton sea lead to asthma? (Imelda Arias-Halum)
A - Emma Aronson: Yes, please see the recording of the Health session yesterday.
Q2 - Compared to other people within the same socioeconomic group, how does the rate of asthma compare? Comparing it to the state of CA avg has confounding variables (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: I have not seen that data, but it deserves to be studied.
Q3 - How did you do the photovoice project, in practice? Did you use an app, or cameras or some other approach? (for Pozar & Cheney) (Alida Cantor)
A - Ann Cheney: We asked participants to either use their own smartphone or a study camera. All participants opted to use their smartphone to take pictures. Participants were instructed to take as many pictures as they wanted and select 10 pictures that best represented their responses to the research questions.
Q4 - What are some ways to reduce the amount of bacteria in the South region? Or how can we reduce LPS in the soil? (Taher Bhaijee)
A - Emma Aronson: We do not yet know how to reduce the LPS in the dust, and this is an active area of research.
Q5 - How do you plan to test or validate that this asthmatic like response is true for humans too? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: As an environmental microbiologist, that is beyond my capability, but perhaps others in the medical school will be able to do this.
A- Keziyah Yisrael-Gayle: Our lab is currently gearing up to perform clinical studies in which we will address this question. Stay tuned :)
Q6 - Have you done wind rose analysis? The dominant wind direction at the Salton Sea is westerly/ south-westerly. The wind from north/ northwesterly is not common. (Anonymous)
A - Will Porter: Yes, we are extremely interested in wind speeds and directions. There is a huge range of spatial, seasonal, and diurnal wind patterns across the Salton Sea region, making it nearly impossible to condense them all into one consistent summary. While there are definitely areas, especially southernmost areas of the Imperial Valley, where westerly winds dominate over winds from the north, many other locations show a clear northwesterly influence. On a seasonal basis this influence can be even stronger during specific times of year, especially during daytime hours when wind speeds and dust levels are usually at their highest. Please feel free to reach out to me directly to discuss wind patterns in greater detail.
Q7 - Question for Drs.Freund and Yisrael-Gayle. Which bacteria in the sea are gram negative? Will future changes in water quality make them more or less abundant? (Thomas Ashley)
A - Emma Aronson: The Cyanobacteria and one other major group we observed were gram negative. It is hard to predict future changes in water quality and what the impacts would be. I would like to investigate that question.
A- Keziyah Yisrael-Gayle: Our lab is currently in the process of identifying specific species of bacteria isolated directly from the sea itself. We will soon have information on exactly which bacteria is contributing to the production of LPS. While water quality improvement may not get rid of all of these bacteria entirely as they are naturally found in this environment and are simply adapting to the current state of the water by producing more LPS to be able to survive in its extreme conditions, it can possibly change the amount of LPS being produced and therefore alter how much of this toxin is getting picked up and carried by the dust. But this is certainly something that will need more investigation as far as specific changes in bacterial load and the species present.
Q8 - Have the observations at the Sea been compared to other agricultural areas? How do we know what's attributable to the Sea & what are the health impacts of ag? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: I am not aware of such studies, but we are working to address whether issues are related to agriculture at all.
Q9 - Talyssa - How do you know that the difference is due to adaptation in the microbiome and not differences in the dust itself? (Eric Barefoot)
A - Talyssa Topacio: We’re not certain about either! At this point in time, we are beginning to understand whether or not there is a correlation at all between dust→lung health→the lung microbiome. I am currently working with a ton of data that might start to give us insight about whether the dust itself or the inflamed lung is more likely to manipulate the existing lung microbiome.
A - Emma Aronson: Dust exposures had been filtered to remove all whole microbial cells.
Q10 - General question- since most of the talks have focused on bacteria, has there been much investigation into viruses in the Salton Sea and possible aerosolization (Raymond Leibensperger)
A - Emma Aronson: It has been very limited so far, but is an interesting research idea for the future.
Q11 - How far do aerosols spread in the valley? (Eva Schill)
A - Emma Aronson: We are working to find that out.
Q12 - What is LPS again? In simple terms? I know it’s in the air and water and is harmful but can’t remember what they are (Ruth Metcalfe)
A - Emma Aronson: LPS is part of the cell membranes of some bacteria. In the Salton sea some organisms produce very strong LPS to protect themselves from stressful conditions. Our immune systems recognize it as an invading pathogen and become active to remove it. The LPS pieces in the Salton sea dust are no longer attached to a bacteria. The very strong LPS particles make our immune system overactive, causing asthma symptoms.
Q13 - I thought Keziyah’s work shows no inflammation difference between pacific water and Salton Sea from mice study. Is that true? If so, why focus on the aerosol? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: Answered in person, but briefly the process of waves generating lake spray changes the composition of the aerosols, so the bulk Salton sea exposure may not be relevant.
A- Keziyah Yisrael-Gayle: Our research showed that there was no active inflammatory cell recruitment; however, there were significant changes on a gene regulation level to suggest that compared to control air animals as well as pacific ocean exposed animals, SS water caused upregulation in inflammatory genes. So while there was no active inflammatory cell recruitment, the water was certainly causing gene regulatory changes. This is why we continued to study different material from the area including dust in which we saw significant inflammation. Our theory is that shedded LPS from the bacteria in the sea is being blown from the surface of the sea and being concentrated in the dust particulate matter in the region. Additionally, we have detected significant levels of LPS in both the water and the dust so there is certainly a connection. However, more research is needed to explain the process of entrainment of LPS on dust particles.
Q14 - Is it fair to say the findings presented here suggest that eutrophic lakes deserve more research in the face of climate change re: potential health impacts? (Virginia Gewin)
A - Emma Aronson: Yes!
Q15 - Since the Salton Sea is such an unusual novel ecosystem, rife with nutrients and high temps, could it be evolving new microbes? (Virginia Gewin)
A - Emma Aronson: That’s possible, but would be hard to test for or look for. It is selecting for extreme microorganisms, but they may also be evolving.
Q16 - Has the same type of analysis been done around other agricultural communities (not Salton Sea) for respiratory illnesses and local sources of air pollution? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: That is a great idea, but we have not been able to do those kinds of comparisons yet.
Q17 - Does anything presented here today call into question projects to facilitate access to the sea? (Virginia Gewin)
A - Emma Aronson: That is not clear at this time
Q18 - About the statement the salton sea is in dysbiosis - how do you know that is the case compared to, say, the ecosystem of the salton sea in the 1980s and 1990s? (Anonymous)
A - Emma Aronson: That is a great question. We don’t have enough data to compare to the past Salton Sea microbiome, but we can compare the Salton Sea microbiome to that of other comparable lakes and seas, and see dysbiosis.
POLICY & PLANNING Q&A
Q1 - I’m wondering if the policy team is using a collaborative adaptive management model to maximize stakeholder participation and optimize outcomes (Michael Davidson)
A - Panel Response: Please see discussion and presentations in the Community Engagement panel.
Q2 - Can you please address the EPA case with Hells Kitchen Geothermal over wetlands discharge impacting Salton Sea and illegal draining 1,200 acres of wetlands? (Tracey Taylor)
A - Panel Response: See this EPA news release.
Q3 - How can we make the messaging about how harmful the LPS from the Sea is to human health so that it can be addressed? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Emma Aronson: This summit is the start of that messaging. We hope to find a way to work with public officials and community groups to build on this effort as more data is published.
Q4 - Re Policy and current momentum: how would a change in the White House affect our ability to keep moving forward with equity and justice for local communities? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Panel Response: One of the candidates has expressed little interest in moving forward with equity and justice.
Q5 - The elephant in the room seems to be industrial agriculture and its major negative impacts on both water quantity and quality. What can be done on this issue? (Anonymous)
A - Panel Response: One goal of this Salton Sea Summit is to help better identify and quantify those impacts so that elected and appointed officials, along with stakeholders and community members, can make more informed decisions and understand the trade-offs associated with particular decisions.
Q6 - ~15,000 acres of habitat was required to be created by the SSMP pursuant to the 2017 State Water Board Order. Not a single acre is functioning yet. Why not? (Anonymous)
A - Panel Response: See the SSMP presentation at the Projects panel.
Q7 - Are baseline data being collected on water quality & species (pupfish?) to document any negative impacts or contaminant loading as projects go forward? (Virginia Gewin)
A - Panel Response: See: Salton Sea Planning
Q8 - Why does SSMP say the SCH project will fulfill 4100 acres of the habitat required by the 2017 Water Board Order, when that Order explicitly excludes the SCH? (Anonymous)
A - SSMP collective: Pending completion of the Species Conservation Habitat project and submission of acreage reporting for Water Board review and approval, CNRA estimates the full acreage of the SCH project to count towards the 29,800-acre Order milestone.
Q9 - Please explain the regulatory context for water quality in the Salton Sea and surrounding waters/wetlands. If CWA does not apply, who regulates/how? (Anonymous)
A - Caroline Hung: CA Regional Water Board regulates through multiple programs. However, non-point source pollution (such as agricultural run-off) is not applied under the CWA, so it is much harder to regulate despite work being put towards it.
Q10 - For Scott Epstein: Does air filtration $ allow for materials for CR filtration boxes to be distributed and/or community workshops to build those? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Scott Epstein: The air filtration incentive programs only distribute commercial air filtration devices and do not allow for the purchase of components to build filtration boxes.
Q11 - Silvia— you mentioned that there are no actual pipelines for projects to take place (capital absorption). What would be helpful to develop this capacity? (Ruth Metcalfe)
A - Silvia Paz: The silos need to be broken, different jurisdictions have priority projects, these projects exist as relatively small independent projects rather than projects that are interconnected and help the region achieve a shared priority.
Q12 - Where is the discussion of the catastrophic environmental impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations? Phosphorus from cattle manure causes algal blooms. (Craig King)
A - SSTF: A good question, this is a work in progress that requires further research.
Q13 - Is using less water for the CO river because we want to conserve water in the future? Like emergency stores? Or bc it’s fed by reservoirs that are shrinking? (Ruth Metcalfe)
A - Panel Response: See this article.
Q14 - For Jessica: Do you mean reductions shared “equally” or equitably? They are different. Are there criteria and processes for determining what is equitable? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Jessica Neuwerth: Equitably. Equity is largely in the eye of the beholder, so an equitable apportionment of reductions will be determined by negotiations that are informed by seniority, practicality, and other considerations.
Q15 - What types of mitigation are solar or industry required to implement for impacts to the Salton Sea? (Anonymous)
A - SSTF: Please see the draft EIR on the Riverside County Website.
Q16 - Where is the data on projected freshwater use in extracting lithium from geothermal brine? (Craig King)
A - Panel Response: See Lithium presentation on Projects panel
Q17 - We heard from two panelists at the North Lake Pilot Project meeting last week that the long range plan for the Salton Sea is the Perimeter Lake, is that true? (Tom Sephton)
A - Panel Response: See the Feasibility Study presentation on the Projects panel; the long range plan is still being developed.
COMMUNITY NEEDS Q&A
Q1 - Caroline Hung mentioned a Clean Water Act loophole that means Salton Sea is regulated differently than other water bodies. Can you address that? (Firestone) (Virginia Gewin)
A - Laurel Firestone: While the Salton Sea does have special status that exempts it from direct coverage under the Clean Water Act, both the federal and state clean water acts do apply to protect the watershed and tributaries. More information is available on the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s website: Salton Sea | Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board
Q2 - How are potential socioeconomic and health access differences across Coachella and Imperial addressed in community outreach? (Anonymous)
A - SSTF: This is a good question, however the Salton Sea Task Force is unable to answer it at this time as further research is required.
Q3 - Recommendations re outdoor recreation at Salton Sea appear inconsistent with science re threats to public health from SS dust and SS aerosols. Please address. (Anonymous)
A - SSMP collective: SSMP projects that have a recreational component will do so in project areas that have lowered the emissive dust. Recreation on berms that are graveled, or through vegetation will be in areas where dust is being minimized by a restoration action in the area. There could be instances of high wind when air quality is not sufficient for recreating anywhere around the Sea.
Q4 - The report says “..the SSMP does not currently have capacity, jurisdiction or expertise to take a lead role to track public health conditions around the sea” If not the SSMP, who will take the lead? If the SSMP does not have capacity or jurisdiction, who does, or how could the SSMP be supported to address health? (Ruth Metcalfe)
A - SSMP collective: The Salton Sea Management Program is comprised of three state agencies: The California Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the California Department of Water Resources. The SSMP is charged with habitat restoration and dust suppression projects on lakebed that becomes exposed as the Salton Sea recedes due to specific water conservation measures adopted in the Imperial Valley. The SSMP projects address air quality by reducing wind-blown dust from exposed lakebeds. Although the SSMP does not have regulatory authority over the region’s air and water quality, it does conduct monitoring as part of its work within its restoration sites. The Program is committed to sharing the data collected and coordinating with other agencies and universities to assist with work that addresses public health concerns and needs. The three SSMP agencies are not public health agencies. The California Department of Public Health is the state’s public health department and local agencies are the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health and the Imperial County Public Health Department.
Q5 - @Krystal Otworth: is your concept an outcome of a co-design? (Eva Schill)
A - Krystal Otworth: While the concept wasn’t developed through a formal co-design process, it emerged from ongoing collaboration with community members. The recommendations, such as additional funding for air filters and linking environmental projects to public health, were identified through consistent dialogue with the community, including monthly meetings, workshops, individual conversations, canvassing, and other forms of engagement. There is growing concern that, despite funding being allocated towards the Sea, "nothing is being done" to address public health issues. While it’s important to recognize that much work has been done, the public’s perception remains that the emphasis has been largely on environmental concerns, leaving public health issues under addressed. This has driven the identification of the proposed solutions.
Q6 - Can the SSMP partner with local non-profits to design dust mitigation projects and amenities rather than design everything in Sacramento? (Tom Sephton)
A - SSMP collective: Salton Sea Management Program staff are located in offices based in Imperial, Riverside, and Sacramento Counties and SSMP contractors and consultants are located throughout the State. The SSMP has partnered with Audubon California to carry out the Bombay Beach Wetlands Enhancement project. The project has the potential to include amenities that the community has addressed to be considered as part of the project.
Q7 - To Eric Reyes and all, the danger at the shoreline comes mostly when the wind is blowing. Can we warn people to come out to the Sea only on calm days? (Tom Sephton)
A - Eric Reyes: Yes, currently there is a project under going on just that topic of warnings for dust storms so people around the Sea will be warned ahead of time of the dust storms and plan accordingly. The project is headed by UC Professors and they are working on how to best reach the community; social media, direct contact/texts, website etc…,and a program much like the air quality daily program we see with the flags but this project will ask the residents around the Sea what their preference is regarding how they want to be contacted about upcoming wind/dust storms around the sea. This project aims to improve the existing methods of predicting high winds before they arrive in the area and most importantly to have the residents tell them how they want to be advised of these storms and then implement that outreach/information strategy into their project. Our organization was contacted by the UC consortium of professors working on that project that was a bill carried by State Senator Steve Padilla last year but died with the budget cuts but is now being considered by CARB to fund. I hope this project comes to fruition and much like the other questions on the contradiction of more outdoor spaces and activities in relation to air quality and issues around the sea we may inform the public what is in the air and when best not to go out so they may make an informed decision.
Q8 - Audubon Bombay Beach: what is the source of the water for the restored wetlands? (Kenneth McDowell)
A - SSMP collective: The BBW occurs in an area that receives ephemeral stormwater runoff, perennial flow from upstream discharges, and shallow perched groundwater.
PROJECTS & DEVELOPMENT Q&A
Q1 - Is collaborative adaptive management under consideration as a tool for optimising outcomes?? (Michael Davidson)
A - SSMP Collective: Currently all SSMP Projects are under adaptive management and we are collaborating with partners such as the air districts, Science committee, landowners, and other agencies.
Q2 - SSMP Phase 1: Where is the water for the aquatic restoration project going to come from? (Kenneth McDowell)
A - SSMP collective: Water comes from varied sources. For the Species Conservation Habitat project it is a mix of water from the New River and the Salton Sea so a salinity can be achieved that will support tilapia in the ponds. Project water can come from the rivers, the drains, storm flow, and wells depending on the type of project, the location, and the available water source.
Q3 - Where is the water coming from for the new wetlands? (Kenneth McDowell)
A - SSMP collective: Water for the wetlands projects is proposed to come from either IID or CVWD drains and/or natural drainages.
Q4 - How much water will be needed for the expanded SCH? Does the SCH have any long term guarantee of New River water supply yet? (Tom Sephton)
A - Melinda Dorin: The State is working on a water agreement with IID for New River water. The SCH expansion water needs is still being modeled but the estimate of New River water needed for the entire SCH project is linked here.
A - SSMP collective: Pursuant to the 2022 Commitments Agreement which identifies 100,000 a.f. for the expansion, the State is working on a water agreement with IID.
Q5 - SSMP projects use contaminated sediments and polluted water. Exposing people to SSMP projects by adding recreational components seems misguided. Please address. (Anonymous)
A - SSMP collective: SMMP projects that have a recreational component will do so in project areas that have lowered the emissive dust. Recreation on berms that are graveled, or through vegetation will be in areas where dust is not airborne. There could be instances of high wind when air quality is not sufficient for recreating anywhere around the Sea.
Q6 - Can we use high quality organic compost or mulch to mitigate the dust as a multi-benefit solution that includes GHG reduction with the dust mitigation? (Jennifer Prado)
A - SSMP collective: Currently this is not a dust mitigation practice the SSMP has identified for dust suppression. However, the SSMP did perform a compost trial at its Vegetation Enhancement project. The trial showed no more advantages to plant/seed viability and survivability than sites with no compost incorporated in the soil. We felt it best to proceed with planting in native soil with no additional treatments so plants can adapt and thrive in native soils.
Q7 - Salton Sea elevation has dropped ~1 foot since additional water cutbacks began in Aug. What specific actions is SSMP undertaking to address the resulting harm? (Anonymous)
A - SSMP collective: SSMP continues to implement required projects as part of the SSMP 10-Year Plan, work with partners, and with agencies such as the US Army Corps of Engineers to implement the feasibility study on an expedited basis. As the Sea recedes the State is identifying parcels and projects and continues to progress implementation. The SSMP has committed to implementing projects as quickly as possible. The 2022 Commitments Agreement tied to water conservation actions, is a direct result of how the SSMP and partners are addressing the impacts.
Q8 - What is the plan to manage selenium in SCH as the Salton Sea becomes increasingly hypersaline making it less usable to dilute New River selenium? (Tom Sephton)
A - SSTF: Currently we do not have an answer to this question, but will revisit it as new information becomes available.
Q9 - Will Vegetation Enhancements need to be irrigated and fertilized in perpetuity? (Kenneth McDowell)
A - Mario Llanos: No. it is anticipated that we will ween the plants off of water little by little. Ultimately they will live without intervention in 3-5 years.
Q10 - Why have a separation end to end between the upwind bales in place of a continuous bale wall? (Tom Sephton)
A - Mario Llanos: not sure i understand the question. We try and will continue to try to reduce how many bales we use. We do not go all the way towards the shoreline because the upwind bale arrays have reduced saltation and baling the entire area is not needed.
Q11 - Considering that pictures show vegetation on playa site B as dense as at upwind site A, how do you know the iodine bush needs bales for protection? (Tom Sephton)
A - Mario Llanos: They are very soft tissue plants....same with the others. We do not place bales on the downwind side due to the upwind baled zone reducing dust blown at the ground level. In essence, the downwind plantings do not need the same protection.
Q12 - Are the wetlands being optimized for nutrient removal? What does the data show? (Tim Lyons)
A - Moderator: The design of the Holtville Wetlands does attempt to optimize nutrient removal. The size is not operational yet so additional monitoring will be required to gather data and evaluate the design.
Q13 - When speaking of vegetation are these native plants or what is being done within vegetation efforts to prevent invasive species? (Anonymous)
A - Moderator: They are native, drought tolerant, and halophytic plants. Some non-natives like tamarisk are removed. We do not see many non natives randomly coming up because targeted irrigation
Q14 - Why does SSMP say the SCH project will fulfill 4100 acres of the habitat required by the 2017 Water Board Order, when that Order explicitly excludes the SCH? (Anonymous)
A - SSMP collective: Pending completion of the Species Conservation Habitat project and submittal of acreage reporting for Water Board review and approval, CNRA estimates the full acreage of the SCH project to count towards the 29,800-acre Order milestone.
Q15 - Great, there's new funding for SCH. But with increasing water cutbacks, will there be enough water to sustain SCH? Or will SCH be downsized like North Lake? (Jasmyn Phillips)
A - Moderator: As part of the Salton Sea Commitments Agreement of December 2022 that committed $250 M in federal funding, Imperial Irrigation District also identified 100,00 acre feet for SSMP projects, and we are working on that water agreement. SSMP modeling shows this will cover the water needs of the SCH Expansion.
Q16 - What plant species are being planted in these projects? (Emma Aronson)
A - Moderator: Allenrolfea occidentalis, Atriplex canescens var. macilenta, Atriplex lentiformis, Atriplex polycarpa, Distichlis spicata*, Isocoma acradenia var. Eremophila, Prosopis glandulosa, Psorothamnus spinosus, Parkinsonia florida, Senegalia Spinosus, Suaeda nigra
Q17 - Where is all the hay coming from? (Jennifer Prado)
A - Moderator: From Mario Llanos: Locally contracted from imperial County. Same work other supplies, where feasible
Q18 - Mario just gave a presentation about the bales not working nor being full grass at Bombay. What has changed in the last weeks? (Anonymous)
A - Moderator: From Mario Llanos: this was the same slide from the Bombay meeting. I did say the bales were working, but said the plants are delayed due to no groundwater in the area. We will resume planting activities early next year.
Q19 - Will the Bombay Beach wetland project experience public access issues (SCH has public access issues) due to liability issues since it's partially on IID land? (Jasmyn Phillips)
A - SSMP collective: The SSMP and Audubon have been engaging with IID to allow pedestrian access to the Bombay Beach Wetland site.
Q20 - Thank you Bureau of Reclamation and Salton Sea Authority for taking on the community initiated Desert Shores project. When will we see a full progress report? (Tom Sephton)
A - Moderator: A meaningful update would align with securing preliminary data from the current geotechnical and hydrologic RFP.
Q21 - We heard at the North Lake Pilot meeting last week that the Perimeter Lake is the long range plan for the Salton Sea. Is that the chosen alternative for ACOE? (Tom Sephton)
A - Moderator: USACE has not chosen an alternative at this point in time.
Q22 - Fungi control the uptake of nutrients in wetlands, which are why wetlands are key mitigation strategies in the US midwest. What do your studies show in this regard? (Jessica Whiteside)
A - Moderator: The members of this panel are not actively researching this topic.
Q23 - Will biogenic GHGs from components of proposed plans, e.g. exposed lakebed and impoundments, plus economic costs of GHGs, be included as costs in Corps' analysis? (Jenny E. Ross)
A - Aelna Sakamoto: GHG emissions will be evaluated and documented in our NEPA analysis as part of the air quality analysis and/or other social effects.
Q24 - Is the ACOE considering water import alternatives other than the two from UCSC? (Tom Sephton)
A - Aelna Sakamoto: The water importation alternatives from the State's Long-Range Plan (Alternatives 11, 12, and 13) were included for consideration in our initial array of alternatives. The study team is currently evaluating and comparing alternatives to arrive at a final array of alternatives. The final array of alternatives will be the focus of evaluations to identify a tentatively selected plan
Q25 - At the risk of kicking a dead horse: wetlands are a remarkable engineer-able solution to nutrient mitigation. Why are they not a priority? (Tim Lyons)
A - Moderator: Wetlands are a land cover type that will be integrated into the restoration efforts at the Sea.
Q26 - Is the Army C. working collaboratively with the State and land owners to implement these restoration projects? Where can we get more info on these initiatives? (Anonymous)
A - USACE: Yes, the Corps will be working collaboratively with our non-Federal partners, the California Dept of Water Resources and the Salton Sea Authority, as well as our Cooperating and Participating Agencies. The Cooperating and Participating Agencies include the BLM, BOR, USFWS, BIA, EPA, USDA, CNRA and CDFW. The study team will also be working with other stakeholders and interested parties such as the State, land owners, and those with particular expertise in the Salton Sea area. Specifically More information about the project can be found on the Corps project website.
Q27 - Because the sea needs water, could we pump the extracted water into the sea for dust suppression? or would that cause problems? (Anonymous)
A - Moderator: It would depend on the design and consumptive use of the facility.
Q28 - With the increase in jobs that lithium will bring, is there water to support these people living and working in the area? (Anonymous)
A - Michael McKibben: Yes IID has a very large Primary allocation of water from the Colorado River. They underuse it by up to 100,000 acre-feet per year, more than enough to accommodate Lithium Valley development and growth.
ECOLOGY Q&A
Q1 - What will a productive ecosystem look like that doesn’t include water boatman, brine flies, and brine shrimp? Will it just be algae and/or microbes? (Tim) (Virginia Gewin)
A - Tim Bradley: Yes, it will be almost exclusively algae and bacteria, possibly with other simple microorganisms. The Dead Sea is an example of such a habitat. The shores and sites of water flowing into the Sea will be of use to birds feeding on these organisms.
Q2 - For the Fish & Wildlife project, is sufficient water available to do those future marsh projects? (Anonymous)
A - Tim Bradley: Almost certainly not. Due to the restriction of water currently available, and expected reductions in the future, the amount of habitat at the Sea with a salinity appropriate for larger aquatic organisms will be extremely limited relative to the previous acreage of the intact Sea. An additional challenge is presented by the fact that much of the water available in the inflowing river is contaminated by selenium, which limits its use for aquatic habitat.
A - SSMP collective: The Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) recognizes that the future water supply for wetland projects is unpredictable due to the effects of ongoing drought, climate change, and water conservation efforts to address a dwindling regional water supply. Therefore, the SSMP does not know exactly how much water will be available in the future. However, the SSMP strategy for addressing this uncertainty with wetlands is to maximize the use of currently available water by spreading the existing wetlands while incorporating climate resiliency into project design.