Interior Department, State of California Break Ground on Salton Sea Rehabilitation Effort

WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior, the California Natural Resource Agency and other stakeholders today broke ground on the latest phase of the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project funded in part through President Biden's Investing in America agenda.

The groundbreaking took place on the shores of the Salton Sea, California's largest inland lake where the Bureau of Reclamation is investing $250 million through the Inflation Reduction Act over 5 years. The investment began in 2023 to expedite implementation of the state's 10-year plan for dust suppression and aquatic restoration efforts while enabling urgent water conservation. This ongoing investment compliments an investment of more than $500 million in state funding.

President Biden's Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation's history and provides much-needed resources to enhance Western communities' resilience to drought and the effects of climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act includes an overall $550 million for domestic water supply projects and $4 billion for water conservation and management efforts in the Colorado River Basin and other areas experiencing similar levels of long-term drought. To date, Reclamation has announced 208 drought mitigation projects and 15 domestic water supply projects, totaling $2 billion.

"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to making western communities more resilient to the impacts of drought and climate change," said Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis. "With transformational investments from the President's Inflation Reduction Act, we are collaborating with our partners to strengthen the stability and sustainability of the Colorado River System to support families, farmers and Tribes long into the future."  

"It was less than two years ago that we signed a memorandum of understanding for the Salton Sea, and here we are today breaking ground on phase two of the Species Conservation Habitat Project, on the heels of signing the largest water conservation agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District," said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. "We're grateful to our partners in the State of California, the Imperial Irrigation District Board, and farmers and growers in the Imperial and Coachella Valley for leading the way for the Sea and the Colorado River Basin."

Reclamation provided $72 million in fiscal year 2023 to implement projects at the Salton Sea, support capacity for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe, and for the expansion of the Species Conservation Habitat Project, which will provide aquatic habitat for wildlife and dust suppression benefits to protect the local community.

Water users in California committed to conserve 400,000 acre-feet of water annually starting in 2023. Last month, following signing of the Imperial Irrigation District's system conservation agreement, Reclamation provided an additional $170 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding to the state of California to continue conservation efforts and expansion of the Species Conservation Habitat Project.

To learn more about how Reclamation is supporting the project, visit www.usbr.gov/inflation-reduction-act.