Monday, July 22, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.
The fate of a salty, smelly and dying desert lake called the Salton Sea could spell the loss of water for thousands of Southern Nevada residents.
Scientists, environmentalists and federal and California officials are struggling to extend the life of the sea, a product of flooding nearly a century ago.
But because of a tangle of water laws binding California and Nevada, part of Las Vegas' water supply from the Colorado River is in danger -- a portion that provides enough water for about 100,000 Nevadans.
"This whole Salton Sea issue is a disaster," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency charged with providing enough water to fill taps throughout most of Clark County.
The problem roots extend from 1905, when the catastrophic failure of irrigation canals into California's Imperial Valley from the Colorado River led to massive flooding. A dry lake bed, the Salton Sink, was transformed into the Salton Sea.
Since then the lake, about 40 miles southeast of Palm Springs, Calif., has been regularly replenished with irrigation runoff from the Imperial Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural areas. But the water's salt content has risen over the last century, bringing the sea close to death -- the point where no fish can live in it.
That would doom millions of migratory birds, an outcome federal and California wildlife officials want to prevent by putting more fresh water into the Salton Sea -- water that would come from Imperial Valley farmers.
The Imperial Irrigation District has committed huge volumes of water for other purposes: the agriculture that fuels the local economy and -- under a 1998 multistate water pact -- for urban San Diego. Something has to give, district officials believe.
If San Diego does not get the water, what will give is the water pact. That means California will fail to cut back urban water use as promised in the 1998 pact, called the 4.4 Plan. If the pact fails, then the federal government, under the terms of the agreement and federal law, would have to end what is called the interim surplus.
California would lose a huge amount of water -- 800,000 acre-feet a year, enough water for nearly a million homes, or nearly 261 trillion gallons.
But the pact's failure could drag Nevada along with it because the law does not distinguish users. The 20,000 acre-feet that Nevada claims from the surplus -- water that is allocated but not used by states on the upper Colorado River -- is a relatively small amount, only about 7 percent of what Las Vegas draws yearly.
But in a region where water running off a lawn is cause for public concern, officials say even 7 percent would be significant.
The federal rules governing use of Colorado River water could force the suspension of the surplus by Jan. 1.
"Nevada shares with California these interim surplus supplies, and therefore is vitally concerned that California meet its milestone targets to ramp down usage of Colorado River water," George Caan, Nevada's Colorado River Commission executive director, said eight months ago in Washington. The commission represents local agencies on water and power issues.
"If California fails to do so, we will lose our assured water supply rights along with them," he said. "In other words, Nevada's water supply future is inextricably tied to what occurs in California."
The Bureau of Reclamation, which acts as river master for the Colorado, has begun a process that could ultimately unlink Nevada and California. Local water officials hope that works. But the prospect are sinking because of the Golden State's inability to balance water uses.
"What bothers me is that the interim surplus water is going to go straight to the Salton Sea," Mulroy said.
Saving the Salton Sea is a commitment that divides Californians, Mulroy said.
"We've got the cart before the horse here," Mulroy said. "The people in California don't have a common vision for the Salton Sea, but they are asking the other Colorado River states and the federal government to pick up the tab.
"If the Californians want to create Lake Tahoe between Palm Springs and the Imperial Valley, let California pay for it. To say you have to maintain the status quo is crazy."
The issue is not just a problem for local officials.
"Everybody is very concerned with the impacts on Nevada," said Bob Johnson, Bureau of Reclamation regional director for the Lower Colorado.
The best outcome would be for California to live within its goals of reducing Colorado River water use.
"We continue to work with the parties to get to the end game, so we don't have to get to the interim guidelines," he said. "We still have six months to the end of the year."
California officials say there is hope despite the difficult situation. Ron Hull, Imperial Irrigation District spokesman, noted that his agency approved a draft environmental statement for the water transfer to San Diego, a critical step in weaning Southern California off Colorado River surplus.
"We're still moving down the path in terms of what we need to do to implement the San Diego agreement," Hull said. "If we need to change that agreement, that is not going to happen quickly."
But Hull warned that Imperial Valley businesses, farmers and workers do not like the prospect of letting farmland turn into desert so that water can go to San Diego and the Salton Sea.
The Imperial Irrigation District will probably not go forward with the actual plan unless and until "we've had a chance to analyze the whole situation and make sure it's a win-win for all parties," he said.
"We need to make sure we're not harmed in this," Hull said.
For key players, one of the ironies of the situation is that the Salton Sea could die no matter what happens.
The water that enters the lake -- mostly agricultural runoff -- is filled with salt, among many other minerals and chemicals, some of which are toxic runoff.
The lake's water levels are stable, but the salt content has grown year to year. The Salton Sea Authority, a regional agency charged with protecting the lake, estimates that 4 million tons of salt flow into the lake annually.
Already the lake is more than 25 percent more saline that the ocean. Estimates from various authorities differ, but within a few years or decades the salt content from evaporation will grow so high that fish and the birds that eat them will no longer be able to live there.
Other problems, including outbreaks of disease that have killed thousands of fish and birds especially over the past decade, have developed.
"This sea -- it was an accident," an exasperated Mulroy said. She argues that the water that would go into the Salton Sea by killing the 4.4 Plan would only extend the lake's lifespan by four or five years.
Tom Kirk, Salton Sea Agency executive director, disagreed. With the current levels of runoff into the lake, it could stay relatively healthy for 60 years, he said.
A full recovery would depend on high-tech restoration strategies that could cost $300 million. Proposals to build a pipeline from the Pacific Ocean, more than a hundred miles away, were rejected because they could cost more than $1 billion.
Kirk and environmentalists including the Audubon Society are exploring alternatives. The lake is an essential stopover point for migratory birds, which need the fish in the lake to survive their long travels, he said.
"It's an ecological bounty, a crown jewel of avian diversity," Kirk said.
Despite the sticky situation, Mulroy said Clark County residents should not panic. In years past the Southern Nevada Water Authority has been able to use the available surplus to "bank" groundwater in Nevada and Arizona.
In a crisis that water can be recovered, treated and pumped for municipal use. It would not be cheap or easy, but the 350,000 acre-feet is enough banked water to give Southern Nevada a 10-year cushion if the federal government were to cut off all access to surplus water, local water officials said.
But they don't want to use that banked water -- which they view as an emergency "savings account." Drought and growth may require its use sooner than planned.
In Nevada and California, federal, state and regional officials would like to see a limitless water supply that would have room for all important needs. But the reality is that choices have to be made, Mulroy said.
Mulroy hopes that the decisions in California do not cause faucets to run dry in Nevada.
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