Salton Sea: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- taehyunkim54
- Dec 12, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 21, 2021
By Alahna Martinez
Photo courtesy of Samantha Bravo
The Salton Sea is a shallow body of water located in Riverside and Imperial counties near Coachella. In the early 1900's, the lake was formed from an inflow of water from the Colorado River. It began to be a resort destination to the point where hotels and vacation homes were popping up around the area. It has since earned its title of the biggest environmental disaster in California. Birdwatching was amongst the many popular activities to partake in near the Salton Sea. Now, with the high salinity level, the bird population died off due to the massive amount of fish being killed. A majority of what is left behind are run down ruins and fish carcasses.
The Communities surrounding the Salton Sea have been fighting for a solution to get rid of the toxic air quality, foul odor and dying wildlife. Conchita Pozar is part of the community that is fighting for environmental justice. She says that the dust from the sea is causing her children to have nosebleeds and giving asthma to others.
Audio courtesy of Bryce Wayne
Like Pozar, many community members are Purepecha. Purepechas are indigenous people from Michoacán, Mexico and the Eastern Coachella Valley has one of the largest communities of Purepecha migrants in the U.S. Many of them are farm workers and don't have much time to fight for the clean up of the Salton Sea. Another reason for them not fighting back is the fear of living costs if the situation does get resolved. If the quality of living gets better, the price of living and housing costs could increase which would likely force them out of their community with nowhere else to go.
There have been multiple government-funded restoration projects brought up, but due to political issues, the projects have been put on hold. With no plan set place, the surrounding communities continue to suffer. Pozar explains that the most important thing people can do, whether you're part of the community or not, is to spread the word and inform others on what is going on. She hopes that the more awareness that is brought to this issue will put pressure on the government to take action.
Comments