New bond for ailing Sea in the works

This year will be critical for the future of the Salton Sea with a $4.1 billion parks bond that will fund mitigation efforts at the sea to be decided by voters in June.

Should that fail, however, an $8.8 billion water bond could save the day for those mitigation efforts. Former state Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources Agency Gerald Meral is leading the effort to get the water bond placed on the November ballot.

Both the park and the water bonds include $200 million each for the Salton Sea, which combined would grant sufficient funds to ensure the state’s 10-year mitigation plan is funded as it seeks for a longterm solution.

Last year, the California Natural Resources Agency unveiled a 10year plan to manage the Salton Sea and mitigate the health impacts caused by exposed dust coming from the shoreline by building shallow ponds for habitat and other dust suppression projects to cover nearly 30,000 acres. The price tag to achieve that goal is $383 million.

The CNRA so far has received $80.5 million allocated by Gov. Jerry Brown two years ago and relies on the bonds to complete the necessary monies it will need to carry out its plan.

In hopes of gain support for the water bond, Meral gave a brief presentation of what the proposal entails during the Jan. 9 Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors meeting.

Meral presented a breakdown on how the monies of the bond would be distributed if approved by the voters.

He acknowledged that the monies from both bonds, if both bonds are approved, would be a small portion of the total amount needed to address the health and environmental concerns of the Salton Sea.

“We know it’s only a down payment on what the state needs to do to address Salton Sea problems you’re board has grappled to deal with a long time, but we certainly have to get started,” Meral said during his presentation.

He added that the problem at the Salton Sea is starting to get more attention across the state and believes its inclusion in the bond will make it more palatable to the voters to ensure its passage.

The presentation to the IID took place during the information portion of the agenda, and no action was taken. Meral asked the Board to consider the proposal and talk about the possibility of endorsing the bond at a later time.

General Manager Kevin Kelley told the Board the item would be brought back for full consideration at a later meeting, but no specific timeline was given.

According to IID spokeswomen Marion Champion, the district will likely consider endorsing the bond once it officially qualifies for the ballot, which is anticipated to be between April or May.

Although there is already a park bond that will go before the voters in June, Meral is still confident the initiative will be received well by Californians. He said that since the 1960s, all but one water bond had been approved.

In order to get the needed support, the proponents used the framework of a previous water bond which was approved by voters in 2014, as well as the Governor’s water action plan.

One of the main goals of the proposed water bond is also to increase funding for safe drinking water and sets aside $500 million for that purpose.

The other funding categories include watershed restoration, fish and waterfowl habitat, wastewater for disadvantaged communities, urban water conservation, agricultural water conservation, wastewater recycling, desalting, flood management, Oroville Dam repair, and stormwater.

“We think it’s important for every citizen of the state, especially in the disadvantaged communities to have a safe and reliable water supply,” Meral said.

For more information visit: www.waterbond.org