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Public event marks start of work on North Shore Salton Sea project
Environment Oct 24, 2023
An artist's rendering shows the forthcoming North Lake Salton Sea Demonstration Project. | Photo courtesy of Riverside County
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Riverside County and Salton Sea officials held a public event Oct. 19 in North Shore to mark reaching a significant milestone in the development of the future North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project.
The event was held at the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club Community Center, 99-155 Sea View Drive. The yacht club overlooks the project’s future site along Riverside County’s northern shore of the Salton Sea.
State and local officials were in attendance as engineering firm Dudek initiated geophysical survey work. According to the county, the event gave the community a chance to interact with state and local officials, ask questions and learn about how this “much-anticipated” project is coming along.
“The project is being implemented by Riverside County on behalf of the grantee, the Salton Sea Authority, with $19.25 million in state funding from the California Department of Water Resources,” according to a statement from the county.
“The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project will be the first major revitalization project for the Salton Sea’s northern shore,” Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said in a statement. “It will revitalize the Salton Sea and also the community of North Shore.”
The project is a joint venture involving Riverside County and the Salton Sea Authority in league with the state’s Salton Sea Management Program. The goal of the project is to construct a 156-acre lake that has both shallow- and deep-water wildlife habitat.
The purpose of the new lake is “to restore and manage habitat for fish and birds, control dust, provide recreational opportunities, and revitalize the northern end of the Salton Sea as well as the community of North Shore,” officials said.
According to Perez, the public event Thursday “is an opportunity for community members to see an environmental project, and the kind of work that is done to create habitat for wildlife and mitigate dust from the receding Salton Sea. Coachella Valley residents may not be aware of the over 5,000 acres of active restoration projects around the Salton Sea under construction because the work has all taken place in Imperial County, which has a much larger portion of the Salton Sea. Well, this will be an opportunity for folks to know that work in Riverside County, on a major project that we have pushed, is gearing up as well.”
On Oct. 19 Dudek and “teaming partner” WSP started geophysical surveys to analyze soil properties and types, which will influence the project’s engineering design.
“Up to 36 geophysical survey lines will be evaluated at ground surface, with sensors placed along the survey lines at specific intervals to measure seismic wave velocity variations to help map subsurface soil properties and types,” according to the county.
The surveys’ results, in conjunction with further geotechnical investigation at the site by Dudek and WSP, will help advise builders of the requirements and approach to use “for grading and berm construction of the future habitat and recreation project,” officials said.
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