From it's accidental creation due to an engineering oversight, its heyday in the 1950s as a resort area, to its decline and uncertain future, the unlikely story of the Salton Sea is an important chapter in the "Great American Water Wars".
Located in the desert landscape of California's Imperial County, the Salton Sea was created accidentally as a result of flooding along Colorado River between 1905 and 1907. It became a tourist resort in the 1950s and was a vacation hotspot for the rich and famous. But increasing salinity and industrial runoff doomed the resort. Strangely, the Salton Sea remains an important habitat for birds with productive fisheries.
"The saga of the Sea is one of tangled government agencies, farmers whose crops cradle its shores, local Native American tribes, legislators, environmentalists, and private water utilities. It's about politics, ecological frontiers, brutal ironies, and historical wounds still smarting. But more than anything else, it's about water: those who get it, those who don't, and those who outright loot it. The Salton Sea is the latest battle in the American water wars, and without drastic action, in a matter of years it will fall - and bring Southern California down with it."
Photo: Wikipedia
FULL STORY: The Salton Sea: Death and Politics in the Great American Water Wars
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.