Salton Sea Conservancy legislation proposed by State Sen. Steve Padilla

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Senate Bill 583, introduced by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), would create the Salton Sea Conservancy.

For years, debate has raged regarding the fate of the slowly decaying Salton Sea, a body of water created in 1905 when the Colorado River spilled into a California basin just hours east of San Diego.

The water was pristine and perfectly placed near San Diego and Los Angeles to attract tourists for weekend escapes. Within decades, however, the lake’s water quality began to decline due to drainage from surrounding farms and a lack of replenishing sources.

Arguments have been made to replenish the Salton Sea, to oversee its decay and prevent further environmental harm, or to utilize the land for alternate purposes. Padilla’s proposed Conservancy would corral interested parties into one unified decision-making body and hopefully determine a set fate for the Salton Sea.

Padilla joined KUSI’s Hunter Sowards to discuss why the sea needs to be addressed and how a conservancy would best approach the situation.