Recent death of a dog underscores potential consequences

East County News Service

April 23, 2021 (Salton Sea) – The California Water Boards has issued a warning for people and their dogs to avoid water contact in the Salton Sea, located in Imperial and Riverside Counties. The warning is due to multiple Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) detected at numerous sites in the Salton Sea after a dog died following a swimming excursion there.

East County News Service

September 30,2016 (San Diego) –Following a swarm of recent small magnitude earthquakes that began on Monday near the Salton Sea in Southern California, the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) has issued an advisory that there is a small chance that an earthquake measuring 7.0 or  more on the Richter scale could occur on the San Andreas fault before October 4.

The advisory warning includes San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Kern , Imperial and Ventura counties.

Hear our recent interview on KNSJ with Bruce Wilcox, manager of Environmental and Salton Sea programs: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

 

November 9, 2015 (Salton Sea)--The Salton Sea is an ecological disaster poised to get even worse in three years, when water flowing into the lake from the Colorado River is scheduled to be shut off. Already, the inland lake smells like rotten eggs, contaminated by toxic run-off. As it evaporates, pollutants threaten air quality in both Imperial and San Diego counties. It also threatens the many migratory and waterfowl birds in this rich but vanishing habitat.

But this week, the tide is beginning to turn. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning the first restoration project at the Salton Sea along Red Hill Bay on the southern shore. The project will flood 420 acres of exposed lakebed with water from the nearby Alamo River and the lake, creating wetland habitat for migratory birds and also keeping toxic dust out of the air, while still leaving room for energy companies to tap the region’s vast geothermal potential.

By Randy Zuniga

March 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Garnet Peak is a fun and easy hike with spectacular views. The amazing part about this hike is the amount of payoff for how short the hike really is. An “out and back” that is 4.4 miles long (roundtrip) with most of it along the beautiful Pacific Crest Trail. In this compact hike one experiences a picturesque summit overlooking the Anza Borrego desert, Imperial Valley, and on clear days even the Salton Sea.

San Diego's thirst for Colorado River water threatens ecosystem at Salton Sea

By Leon Thompson

Photos:  Salton Sea Authority, U.S. Geological Survey, Salton Sea Museum, and Tobias Deml

September 20, 2014 (Salton Sea) – The rotten smell in the desert just east of East County is the harbinger of worse things yet to come.

The tell-tale odor of “rotten eggs" prompted officials to issue an air quality warning for the Coachella Valley.  The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued an odor advisory Tuesday warning residents they could experience headaches and nausea.