BajaNomad - Colorado river water release

Colorado river water release

Ateo - 3-27-2014 at 05:36 PM

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=72955

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=72909#pid8945...

[Edited on 3-28-2014 by Ateo]

woody with a view - 3-27-2014 at 05:36 PM

it would be cool to re-establish the waterway, but for an optimist I'm pretty pessimistic....

Ateo - 3-27-2014 at 05:38 PM

Imagine 40 years into the future. Maybe desal will be killing it. Maybe blow up a few dams and let a little floooooow, down into Mexicooooo.

bajabuddha - 3-27-2014 at 06:15 PM

Dominy Falls is the future rapid created by the rubble of a destroyed Glen Canyon Dam (named after Floyd Domini, the 'father' of the Plug). That, and hopefully the tsunami of the flood taking out Hoover, Parker, Havasu and Morelos is the only hope. We screwed the pooch, and nothing is going to bring back the once majestic delta with millions of nesting Flamingos and one of the most beautiful riparian deltas on earth.

This piddly little 'too much, too little, too late' is just a science experiment for future studies. No way this much water can be wasted every years, or every 10 years. The Colorado has been over-allocated of more than 200% of possible maximum yield for over 40 years now. We NEED Vegas power, we NEED Phoenix power, not to mention the pools, fountains and golf courses... agriculture was just the start of the glut.

We used to lay on the sand bars of the once-mighty Colorado, and some of us still believe George Washington Hayduke is still alive and running a houseboat concession............ somewhere.....

StuckSucks - 3-27-2014 at 06:32 PM

bajabuddha well said.

Where's the Monkey Wrench Gang when we need them?

BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 3-27-2014 at 07:24 PM

Hola,

would this water release be regular and....would this give the tortuava a chance to be once again, hopefully a very viable fishery ?

preferably, a catch and release fishery initially but i doubt it due to greed but with a major penalty if caught. HMMMMM....neutering sounds like an excellant penalty !!!

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

Barry A. - 3-28-2014 at 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BAJA.DESERT.RAT
Hola,

would this water release be regular and....would this give the tortuava a chance to be once again, hopefully a very viable fishery ?

preferably, a catch and release fishery initially but i doubt it due to greed but with a major penalty if caught. HMMMMM....neutering sounds like an excellant penalty !!!

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

No, Rat, this is a temporary thing and cannot be repeated very often as the legal water commitments upstream max. out all available water in the Colorado system except in extremely wet years. The whole intent, as I understand it, of this "surge" project is an experiment to see what long-term effect this has on the Delta ecosystem, if any. We already know that the short-term effects are dramatic, but what happens long-term as a result of these occasional "surges" is not fully known at this time.

One of the most positive results of these surges is to "flush out" the delta, and get rid of accumulated polutants and excessive vegetation and at least partially open up the channels to the sea. The dream of a restored wild-river is not going to ever happen, in my opinion, and probably never should due to the size of the Colorado River drainage area, and the enormous floods associated with it in the "old days".

Barry

David K - 3-28-2014 at 10:06 AM

Does the Gila River flow... or does Arizona consume all its water before it reaches the Colorado?

Mexitron - 3-28-2014 at 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajabuddha
Dominy Falls is the future rapid created by the rubble of a destroyed Glen Canyon Dam (named after Floyd Domini, the 'father' of the Plug). That, and hopefully the tsunami of the flood taking out Hoover, Parker, Havasu and Morelos is the only hope. We screwed the pooch, and nothing is going to bring back the once majestic delta with millions of nesting Flamingos and one of the most beautiful riparian deltas on earth.

This piddly little 'too much, too little, too late' is just a science experiment for future studies. No way this much water can be wasted every years, or every 10 years. The Colorado has been over-allocated of more than 200% of possible maximum yield for over 40 years now. We NEED Vegas power, we NEED Phoenix power, not to mention the pools, fountains and golf courses... agriculture was just the start of the glut.

We used to lay on the sand bars of the once-mighty Colorado, and some of us still believe George Washington Hayduke is still alive and running a houseboat concession............ somewhere.....

Never heard of Flamingos in the Colorado Delta.

Wonder if putting a shipping canal into the Salton Sea (from the SOC) could help the Delta as a byproduct in any way. Salton Sea is at the do or die stage now...would give the economy/wildlife a lift to reinvigorate it with fresh seawater.

monoloco - 3-28-2014 at 10:26 AM

Quote:

The whole Colorado system of dams is operating on borrowed time, eventually the pools will fill with silt rendering them useless and perhaps causing the dams to collapse.

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/commentary/east-ca/t...

bufeo - 3-28-2014 at 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Does the Gila River flow... or does Arizona consume all its water before it reaches the Colorado?

I have somewhere among my books a good history of the Gila (written in the '90s I think), and if I remember correctly the waters from the Salt (a tributary of the Gila) and the Gila dry up before the Gila reaches the Colorado...except during the rainy season when both rivers support boating.

Allen R

David K - 3-28-2014 at 10:29 AM

Between about minute 2 and minute 4 the course changes of the Colorado and the water in the Salton Sink area are shown over time.

The Colorado has gone for many years (centuries?) of not flowing into the gulf, when it flowed north into the Salton Sink.

So, have faith that these past 70 years of no large flows into the gulf is nothing that Nature isn't used to or cannot recover from.

Here is the area over the millions of years of 'recent' history... no sound:

Barry A. - 3-28-2014 at 10:31 AM

I am not that familiar with the Gila River system, David, especially now. Tho it has a large drainage, the average rainfall there is not that dramatic, and the Gila even historically was not that vibrant a system. It does flood occasionally, and causes some havoc among the fields east of Yuma. The Gila is famous for having most of it's normal "flow" under the sands, so there is a lot more water there than appears on the surface. Now, most (if not all) of the water is sucked up for Ag long before it reaches the Colorado just north of Yuma, as I understand it.

My knowledge here is very antiquated, tho, so things may have changed since I was current on the subject of the Gila River.

Barry

Bob H - 3-28-2014 at 10:47 AM

Wow, David, those videos explain it all. I was glued. It will be interesting to see what happens with this release.

bajabuddha - 3-29-2014 at 10:17 AM

The Gila River is completely diverted and used up before it even reaches Phoenix area. There is an Indian Reservation with a small reservoir on it that barely is more than a mud puddle, then dry bed. Downstream there is a containment dam at Gila Bend Az (apt name) just before the Gila entered the Colorado. In the early 90's there was a rain event that flooded the lower Gila beyond upper containment standards, the water hit the containment dam and partially breached it, flooding about 30,000 fps into the Colorado for a week or two. I was in San Luis R.C. as it came through, it was magical to see the Mother wild and free for one brief moment in time; the Mexicano bridge over the river was lined on both sides by locals gazing and staring at it. Even had some sand-waves rolling... hard to believe the earliest Spaniards sailed that river all the way to present-day Las Vegas !!

This flush (as mentioned above) will flush all the accumulated pollutants and nasty sediments of 100 years of neglect into the already-ruined northernmost reaches of the Sea of Cortez. As has been mentioned several times, this is just the start of a long-term study on man's futility of trying to lasso Godzilla with kite string. The 'good-ol'-days' are gone, tamarisk is here to stay, hasn't been a flamingo in over half a century. We dood it, we're still doing it, and some think and profess we still aren't.

George, we're with you, buddy. Hope you and Bonnie (Abzug) are doing well.

Oh, for better advanced reading try a book called "Glen Canyon'' by Steve Hannon. It's a quazi-Monkeywrench Gang type novel, with graphic and factual details of a) what really did occur in '83 and '84 in the bowels of Glen Canyon Dam and how disaster was even closer than the Cuban Missile Crisis, and b) what could possibly happen if a limited nuclear device was ever utilized......... good read since we lost Ed Abbey.
bb.

David K - 3-29-2014 at 10:25 AM

Nature always bats last! :light:

bufeo - 3-29-2014 at 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajabuddha...

George, we're with you, buddy. Hope you and Bonnie (Abzug) are doing well.

Oh, for better advanced reading try a book called "Glen Canyon'' by Steve Hannon. It's a quazi-Monkeywrench Gang type novel, with graphic and factual details of a) what really did occur in '83 and '84 in the bowels of Glen Canyon Dam and how disaster was even closer than the Cuban Missile Crisis, and b) what could possibly happen if a limited nuclear device was ever utilized......... good read since we lost Ed Abbey.
bb.

I'll check that read out, and if you haven't read Emerald Mile you might enjoy that one. Not fiction.

Allen R
P.S. I added the bold print. :yes:

wessongroup - 3-29-2014 at 10:32 AM

bajabuddha ... thanks

Folks and relatives are from AZ ... water has always been REALLY big there

Goldwater fought for some of the "river water" for a very long time ... as did many others ... it is in short supply .. most of the time

And the "river" hasn't been running "free" for a while ... as is true for many other rivers within the United States

Did not support "Bush's" call on the rivers in the Northwest .... as it related to dam's and the Salmon run's .... and we are seeing the results at this time

Suppose it would be too much to consider these events linked to the "human population" ... HUH

Feel sorry for those at the "end" of the pipeline called the Colorado River ... there is only so much ... just the way it works, even with planning and totally agree with the amount of toxic substances and/or their concentrations being worse ... as the amount of H20 is removed from the "solution" we call potable water today .. good luck with that too

Other than that, nice day here is SoCal .. spring is here for sure .. very mild winter again with little rain fall ... but, we did have a quake last night ... not much to write home about ... very "soft" one IMHO ... no sharp movement, very smooth roll for a short period :biggrin:

[Edited on 3-29-2014 by wessongroup]

Mexitron - 3-29-2014 at 10:49 AM

David--nice video! If you are driving on Hwy 86 along the Salton Sea you can see the high water marks still etched into the rock on the hills----there was a lot of water there at one time to be filled that high.

sargentodiaz - 3-29-2014 at 10:55 AM

Yeah, once again thanks to David for some great info!!!!!

wessongroup - 3-29-2014 at 10:55 AM

This was what I grew up with ... not sure it solved all the problems it was intended to solve ... just saying

Key date on Salton Sea, 1905 ...

"Altogether the chain of lakes along the Colorado River consisting of Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Lake Havasu, and Imperial Reservoir hold 63 million acre feet of water. Because of the many reservoirs, evaporation and seepage accounts for bet
ween fifteen to twenty percent (over 2.6 million acre feet) of the river’s estimated average annual flow of 15 million acre feet. California’s total annual allotment of Colorado River water is 4.4 million acre feet of which 3.1 million acre feet are allotted to the Imperial Valley Irrigation District alone, leaving 1.3 million acre feet for all of municipal Southern California. Only 1.5 million acre
feet of the Colorado’s total average annual flow is allotted by treaty to Mexico."

[Edited on 3-29-2014 by wessongroup]

[Edited on 3-29-2014 by wessongroup]

bacquito - 3-29-2014 at 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Does the Gila River flow... or does Arizona consume all its water before it reaches the Colorado?

The Gila River flows into the Colorado River but at at times very little water reaches it and at other times it is pretty substantial.
In the past I have kayaked where it enters the Colorado in the Yuma area.

[Edited on 3-29-2014 by bacquito]

willardguy - 3-29-2014 at 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wessongroup
This was what I grew up with ... not sure it solved all the problems it was intended to solve ... just saying

Key date on Salton Sea, 1905 ...

cool video, that was an amazing undertaking

HUH ?

MrBillM - 3-30-2014 at 03:02 PM

".............Wonder if putting a shipping canal into the Salton Sea (from the SOC) could help the Delta as a byproduct in any way. Salton Sea is at the do or die stage now...would give the economy/wildlife a lift to reinvigorate it with fresh seawater......"

Now, THAT would be an engineering FEAT.

Given the Two-Hundred and Fifty feet vertical difference between the two.

David K - 3-30-2014 at 03:05 PM

The Salton Sea surface is well below sea level... and water runs downhill, so the issue is a canal and a gate/ lock that doesn't let the entire Sea of Cortez in! I think El Centro is not ready to have a beach just yet?

A Beach IN El Centro ?

MrBillM - 3-30-2014 at 03:13 PM

No Problem.

It's BELOW Sea Level.

There "would" be Beach in Indio, though.

The Sea-Level point there is the intersection of Hwy 111 and Monroe St.

Osprey - 3-30-2014 at 03:23 PM

When I used to fish just below Hoover dam I was reminded by the hawser rings in the narrow canyon that big paddle wheelers hauled themselves past the rapids there and were able to get a good distance up into what is now Lake Mead. Maybe David has some history on it that would be fun to read.

Paddle-Wheeling up the River ?

MrBillM - 3-30-2014 at 03:36 PM

Call me a SKEPTIC on that one BUT, having seen Old footage of the rapids through the Grand-Canyon before the Dam was built, I can't conceive of an Upriver voyage.

Barry A. - 3-30-2014 at 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
Call me a SKEPTIC on that one BUT, having seen Old footage of the rapids through the Grand-Canyon before the Dam was built, I can't conceive of an Upriver voyage.

Certainly not above the present upper limits of Lake Mead, but the paddle boats DID reach just short of entering the lower Grand Canyon according to my understanding. The rapids of Grand are daunting, and have been for eons.

Barry.

Osprey - 3-30-2014 at 04:04 PM

Mr. Google just showed me that a paddlewheeler, Explorer, went as far up the river (500 miles) to Black Canyon (that's the current site of Hoover dam) in 1858. FWIW

Mexitron - 3-30-2014 at 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
".............Wonder if putting a shipping canal into the Salton Sea (from the SOC) could help the Delta as a byproduct in any way. Salton Sea is at the do or die stage now...would give the economy/wildlife a lift to reinvigorate it with fresh seawater......"

Now, THAT would be an engineering FEAT.

Given the Two-Hundred and Fifty feet vertical difference between the two.

Its one of the ideas thrown around to help the Salton Sea. Granted, it may not be the most practical....on the other hand it would be nice to put in on the Salton Sea and boat to the Gulf. It would, I imagine, drastically improve the dismal economy of the Salton area, but whether the cost is justified, who knows.

wessongroup - 3-30-2014 at 04:14 PM

Super tankers docking in the Coachella Valley ... how could one miss .. not sure what would happen to El Centro and other locations, below sea level

makes no sense !!

captkw - 3-30-2014 at 05:12 PM

other than wasting water at this very dry (drought) sounds like the power that Be want to make sure the west is DRY !!! :?:

The Explorer ..........

MrBillM - 3-30-2014 at 06:26 PM

Was the boat used by Lieutenant Ives in his 1857-1858 expedition authorized by the Secretary of War to determine to what extent the Colorado River was suitable for Steamboat Traffic.
His voyage terminated at the LOWER end of the Grand Canyon at which point he traveled overland.

There is an excellent book which I liberated (and paid for) from the library on the subject which includes a brief history of exploration from 1539 and extensively covers the history of the Salton Sink diversions, including the author's personal voyages into the diversions beginning in 1890.

The Colorado Delta
American Geographical Society Publication no. 19
By Godfrey Sykes - Research Associate - Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Originally published in 1937 and republished 1970.

Published as a scholarly work, it is Slow reading at times, but includes a wealth of scientific data.

There are a multitude of illustrations, photos and maps dating back to the original Spanish explorations, none of which extended northward of the mouth of the river since they determined that there was no profit in doing so.

The steamboat traffic which developed post-Civil War was to transport supplies from San Francisco to Fort Yuma since it became increasingly difficult to supply overland. The river traffic was terminated in 1877 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific railroad and its purchase of all the shipping rights.

Barry A. - 3-30-2014 at 06:58 PM

Good stuff, Bill. I know Godfrey Sikes granddaughter, Diane, and she is a huge explorer in her own right. I provided logistics for her in a paddle down the Delta, and down the SOC to Gonzaga several years ago with some friends.

Barry

GREAT VIDS !!

captkw - 3-30-2014 at 07:55 PM

Thanks DK and wessongroup....If you get a chance search ""Geogie white' awesome 1ST col. river girl and of course the movie "China Town"

Mexitron - 3-31-2014 at 06:34 AM

An interesting article on the canal idea, with the added bonus of energy storage/production. Not that I'm that crazy about large container ships in the Salton Sea but it would be necessary to pay for the construction:

http://www.intelligentutility.com/article/10/09/great-mexica...

monoloco - 3-31-2014 at 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexitron
An interesting article on the canal idea, with the added bonus of energy storage/production. Not that I'm that crazy about large container ships in the Salton Sea but it would be necessary to pay for the construction:

http://www.intelligentutility.com/article/10/09/great-mexica...

The proposal doesn't address the environmental effects of draining all the agricultural runoff sediments from the Salton Sea into the Gulf.

Cleaning the Sink

MrBillM - 3-31-2014 at 10:17 AM

ALL The musings over the restoration of the Salton Sump are simply meaningless recreation.

There will NEVER be the significant funds available to take remedial action OR the political will (outside of California) to pursue the idea with any seriousness.

The area serves its current purpose (mostly as a runoff depository) well enough and its "possible" use for other purposes doesn't justify the enormous expense necessary to achieve those goals.

The same can be said to a certain extent for the "surge" experiment. Except for the odd (and growing odder) exceedingly wet years, there will NEVER be sufficient excess water in the system to restore the Delta to any extent.

Fun to think about, though.

Mexitron - 3-31-2014 at 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by monoloco

Quote:

The proposal doesn't address the environmental effects of draining all the agricultural runoff sediments from the Salton Sea into the Gulf.

Shouldn't be too big a problem as the volume of water is so high it would be diluted...but that's a guess, don't really know.

Here's something from today on the subject

vgabndo - 3-31-2014 at 02:53 PM

Before and after pictures

https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoRiverProgram

Islandbuilder - 3-31-2014 at 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vgabndo
Before and after pictures

https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoRiverProgram

Thank you for posting this link! I hope that this has enough momentum to keep going, at least as a semi-regular occurrence.

It's a small step, but better than no steps. Perhaps with positive results this will gain some energy.

Mexitron - 4-1-2014 at 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
ALL The musings over the restoration of the Salton Sump are simply meaningless recreation.

There will NEVER be the significant funds available to take remedial action OR the political will (outside of California) to pursue the idea with any seriousness.

The area serves its current purpose (mostly as a runoff depository) well enough and its "possible" use for other purposes doesn't justify the enormous expense necessary to achieve those goals.

The same can be said to a certain extent for the "surge" experiment. Except for the odd (and growing odder) exceedingly wet years, there will NEVER be sufficient excess water in the system to restore the Delta to any extent.

Fun to think about, though.

Might be if the stench from the algae blooms/fish die-offs impacts the well-to-do folks up the road in Palm Springs area. I've smelled it from Ranchita, 30 miles away and 5,000 feet higher...yuck.

It's been YUCK !

MrBillM - 4-1-2014 at 10:34 AM

For a LONG time now.

Those of US who have visited the area (since 1957) and lived for years in the Coachella Valley simply accepted it.

Heck, we've gone Water-Skiing During those "Red-Tides".

Talk about a 'Stink" if we didn't shower prior to heading back to Indio.

I bought a Hobie-Cat and took it down to the Sea during July. The wife said "before I get on there, PROMISE that you won't tip it over".

I Did. And Didn't.

Granted, some of the Elites in the P.S. area voice complaints now and then, but it hasn't ever made ANY difference.

Mexitron - 4-1-2014 at 11:25 AM

Yeah, true, I've got a little place in Borrego and the smell doesn't stop me from going there.

I do like the idea of thinking big though---large engineering feats are inspiring to people and economies.

David K - 4-1-2014 at 11:33 AM

They talk about a 'sea level' canal flowing (downhill) into the Salton Sea (200+ feet below sea level... but no talk about locks. If the Salton Sea is to not raise higher than its original highest shoreline (and flood the farmlands of the Imperial Valley), how does letting a little gulf water in do any good? Don't you need to pump out the Salton Sea bad water with as much new gulf water going in?

Mexitron - 4-1-2014 at 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
They talk about a 'sea level' canal flowing (downhill) into the Salton Sea (200+ feet below sea level... but no talk about locks. If the Salton Sea is to not raise higher than its original highest shoreline (and flood the farmlands of the Imperial Valley), how does letting a little gulf water in do any good? Don't you need to pump out the Salton Sea bad water with as much new gulf water going in?

"From where it crosses the border, just east of the town of Mexicali, the canal route follows the sea level elevation contour almost due north for another 60 km. It meets the Union Pacific Railroad trunk line just east of the town of Niland, where it widens into an excavated harbor and seaport. The western shore of the sea level harbor will be only a few km. from the Salton Sea. Pipelines of manageable size complete the connection to the Salton pumping and generating station."

So for boats to traverse into the Salton Sea a lock would be needed in his plan I'm surmising. Hmmm, they could make a heck of a waterslide with a little of the water.

The Down .................

MrBillM - 4-1-2014 at 02:55 PM

Would be less challenge than the UP.

In any case, the vertical range of individual locks in existing applications seems to be less than 20 feet.

SO, from Sea-Level to -228 Feet .................. ??????

Sure.

[Edited on 4-1-2014 by MrBillM]

Mexitron - 4-1-2014 at 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
Would be less challenge than the UP.

In any case, the vertical range of individual locks in existing applications seems to be less than 20 feet.

SO, from Sea-Level to -228 Feet .................. ??????

Sure.

[Edited on 4-1-2014 by MrBillM]

Exactly, so in the author's plan, locks to the Salton Sea are not included, however a new port "a few km" away from the Salton Sea would be built AND water would be exchanged via the pumps/energy storage system he talks about. SO, the Salton Sea would be saved, a new port would be built, but you can't get in your kayak and paddle from Mecca to Mexicali. But you CAN get in your yacht and sail from Niland to Cabo...and maybe a waterslide :yes:

David K - 4-1-2014 at 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexitron

Quote:

That makes sense indeed.

Somehow I did not visualize a 200 ft. drop from Niland to the Salton Sea, they are pretty close. So a mini lake/ harbor would be at sea level near Niland and in and out pipes would flush the Salton Sea. Good luck on that one!

bajaandy - 4-1-2014 at 06:55 PM

Just to add a little levity to the situation....
http://youtu.be/oySDfoHuIP4

willardguy - 4-1-2014 at 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaandy
Just to add a little levity to the situation....
http://youtu.be/oySDfoHuIP4

I loved you in dances with wolves......

A Port in Niland

MrBillM - 4-2-2014 at 10:11 AM

Would give the Low-Budget Desert Campers a place to hang out, re-supply and utilize the Sanitary facilities.

A Boon all around.

BTW, the elevation at Niland is -141 feet and the surrounding area looks pretty flat to me when I go through there, so I'm assuming that the Port would be some distance away towards the mountains.

Hilarious, a must see... thanks Andy!

David K - 4-2-2014 at 10:54 AM

I would like to see Will Ferrell also take on Al Gore and Carbon Units!

wessongroup - 4-2-2014 at 12:33 PM

Hey Bill

Mexitron - 4-2-2014 at 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaandy
Just to add a little levity to the situation....
http://youtu.be/oySDfoHuIP4

N2Baja - 4-3-2014 at 09:57 PM

Mexitron - 9-3-2014 at 01:57 PM

From the LA Times today, for what its worth:

Salton Sea inaction could cause 'catastrophic change,' report says

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-salton-sea-warni...

Mexitron - 10-22-2014 at 06:38 AM

Another viewpoint of the Salton/Gulf shipping canal and energy production:

http://www.intelligentutility.com/article/10/09/great-mexica...

The Great Mexicali Energy and Shipping Canal

Roger Arnold | Sep 08, 2010
Share/Save
In September 2008, EnergyPulse published an article by Harry Valentine on "The Potential for Seasonal Energy Storage" 1. One of the possibilities for very large-scale pumped hydroelectric storage that Harry mentioned would operate between the Salton Sea in Southern California and Mexico's Sea of Cortez. I didn't initially think his suggestion was practical. Lately, though, I've reconsidered.
Energy Mega-storage

The Salton sea presently covers an area of 974 km2, at an elevation of 70 meters below sea level. An inflow of sea water sufficient to raise the lake level by one meter could generate some 200 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That's a gigawatt of continuous output for 8.3 days for each meter of lake surface rise -- enough to supply the seasonal difference in daily average for over 10 gigawatts of peak solar power.
An obvious issue is the distance from the Salton Sea to the Sea of Cortez (or the Gulf of California, as most of us know it). The image below, from Google Earth, shows the two. The Salton Sea is the dark body of water toward the lower left center; the view looks south toward Baja California and the Sea of Cortez. The distance is 185 km. That means the average elevation drop is a meager 38 cm. per km. After Harry's article, I commented that "It would need a diameter of at least 100 feet (for a pipe or tunnel) to move enough water over that distance to generate 10 gigawatts". That was the minimum scale I felt would be needed to justify such a megaproject. But even at that scale, the capital cost of such an enormous water tunnel would make the stored energy prohibitively expensive.

After mulling it over, I decided to do some serious figuring to see if there was any way the project could possibly be feasible. The conclusion I reached, surprisingly, is that in fact it could be -- if it's done right.

What does "done right" mean, and where was I wrong when I previously scoffed at the idea? It wasn't in my "guestimate" of a 100 foot diameter for a water tunnel. That was actually a little optimistic. To carry sea water for 185 km. with sufficient flow and head to generate 10 gigawatts at the end, a tunnel would need to be more like 50 meters in diameter! Even if it were technically feasible to build such a gigantic water tunnel -- which I rather doubt -- the cost would be orders of magnitude too high to pay off. So how do I conclude that the project could be feasible?

There are a number of considerations, but they start from the fact that the project does not require a tunnel! Instead, it would employ a large sea-level canal for 98% of the distance between the two bodies of water. The desert region above sea level that the canal would traverse consists almost entirely of young alluvial deposits from the Colorado River delta. The course is flat and barely 30 meters in elevation at its highest. Cutting a sea-level canal through that terrain would be a large but not otherwise challenging civil engineering project.

Ancillary Functions

Using an open canal rather than a buried tunnel changes the mode of operation for the pumped energy storage system in ways that make it more efficient. I'll explain about that shortly. But more importantly, it enables the system to serve additional functions that enhance its economic and social value. In fact, energy storage might ultimately be among the least of its functions. The system would also serve for:

large scale tidal power generation for northern Mexico;
a major shipping canal for both international and regional traffic;
infrastructure for economic development in the Mexicali region and the Imperial Valley; and
ecological enhancement of Salton Sea and lower Colorado River environs.
Large-scale tidal power generation is enabled by the unusually large tidal swings at the northern end of the Gulf of California. The typical tidal variation at the Colorado River delta is around 7 meters, with two cycles daily.

Using the canal for shipping might raise a few eyebrows. One can question whether there is really a need for a canal to bring freight to inland ports in Mexicali and the Imperial Valley. But it has its points. It would bypass congestion and cut air pollution at the present port of Long Beach, while saving rail shippers the expensive climb out of the LA basin over Cajon and Beaumont passes. It would reduce the travel distance for ships coming through the Panama Canal to the U.S., and would lower the cost of shipping container cargo to and from the Mexicali region and the American Southwest.

As part of an energy project, the canal's use for shipping seems an afterthought. However, to adequately serve its "primary" energy functions, the canal must be BIG. So big, in fact, that it would be a waste not to use it for shipping. My rough figuring calls for 100 meters wide by 35 meters deep at its Gulf entrance. That is ample to allow two Panamax cargo ships, drawn by railed canal mules, to pass in opposite directions. And in economic terms, shipping would be far more than an "afterthought". The canal's shipping role could ultimately eclipse its energy functions. That's not so much from port revenues or the avoided costs of operations out of Long Beach, but rather indirectly. It would attract business and industry to the regions around the canal. Which brings us to the next point: infrastructure for economic development.

The broad desert areas surroundings of the canal route are prime locations for solar power. The energy storage capacity of the canal would provide the means to convert abundant but intermittent solar energy into reliable 24/7 grid power. Available land, clean reliable power, and easy access to worldwide shipping would make the canal a magnet for industrial development. That would bring jobs and residential development. But what about fresh water -- which is notably scarce in that region?

New supplies of fresh water for the region would have to come from desalination of sea water. Geothermal resources at the southern end of the Salton Sea could be useful for that purpose, but probably a portion of generated solar and tidal power would need to be tapped as well. Modern sea water desalination plants consume about 3.2 watt-hours per liter of fresh water output. (The theoretical minimum is .77 Whr / liter. 2) To meet the domestic water needs of a regional population of one million, some 200 million liters per day would be needed -- assuming no special efforts to reduce consumption below the 200-300 liters per day of the "typical" American lifestyle. If met entirely from desalination, that would be a steady 27 megawatts for desalination -- less that 1% of the average output from the solar installations that the canal could support.

Canal Features

We're now beginning to touch on the most controversial aspect of the project: its environmental impact. Before I can talk more about that, however, I need to backtrack and explain the physical characteristics of the canal. The features that allow it to serve for both energy storage and tidal power generation have a lot to do with its impact.

The main part of the proposed canal -- and 75% of the heavy engineering -- lies in Mexico. It consists of a large sea level canal that begins 20 km out in the Gulf of California, runs between sea walls to the shore, and then continues north-northwest for 130 km. to the U.S. border. From where it crosses the border, just east of the town of Mexicali, the canal route follows the sea level elevation contour almost due north for another 60 km. It meets the Union Pacific Railroad trunk line just east of the town of Niland, where it widens into an excavated harbor and seaport. The western shore of the sea level harbor will be only a few km. from the Salton Sea. Pipelines of manageable size complete the connection to the Salton pumping and generating station.

In addition to the canal itself, dozens of saltwater lakes and tidal marshes will be built along its course. Salt tolerant grasses and other plants will grow in the marshes, providing habitat for birds and fish. Although they have obvious environmental benefits, the lakes and marshes are functional components of the power generation and storage systems. They provide surface area to enable short-term storage of large volumes of sea water with minimal changes in water level.

The constructed lakes and marshes need not be deep; total surface area is what matters. Those near the south end of the canal provide storage for water delivered at high tide. Water is released from there at low tide for power generation. The rise and fall of water in these marshes mirrors the twice daily rise and fall of the Gulf of California tide, but at a reduced scale.

The lakes and marshes near the north end of the canal, in contrast, provide storage for water pumped up from the Salton Sea during hours of surplus power. The stored water is returned to generate power at night and other times when generation is down.

We can see now why the open canal works so much better in these applications than a water pipeline or tunnel. A pipeline is inflexible; it connects the two great reservoirs at either end, but to move any water between the reservoirs, it's necessary to move the entire 180 km. plug of water through the pipeline. That involves high losses to flow resistance. In contrast, the canal is is "elastic". It constitutes a long stretched out reservoir in its own right. There are seasonal average flows through it, drawing water from the Salton Sea in summer and replacing it with water from the Gulf in the winter. But the seasonal average flows are one to two orders of magnitude less than the daily flows that generate tidal power and supply load-following capacity to the power grid. With the canal system, those larger daily flows are mainly local -- between the primary reservoirs and nearby sections of the canal and its auxiliary lakes and marshes. Losses to flow resistance are drastically reduced.

Salton Sea Impact

There are several regions impacted by the project. The first is the Salton Sea itself and the area immediately around it.

From the 1930's and into the 1980's, the Salton Sea was a productive fishery and a popular destination for tourism and camping. But with no outlet, the waters have grown steadily saltier and more polluted from wastewater and agricultural runoff. Fish caught there are no longer judged safe to eat and can't be sold commercially. Algae blooms from high fertilizer levels in the water periodically deplete oxygen and suffocate fish. The stink from dead sea life has at times driven away tourists and campers.

Even more ominous for the Sea's future is that California has long been overdrawing its Colorado River allotment. Under court rulings, it is reducing its draw, which means less flow into the Salton Sea. Moreover, a larger portion of the fresh water that is drawn will be pumped to San Diego and other cities, rather than being used for irrigation in the Imperial Valley. With greatly reduced fresh water input, the Salton Sea will continue shrinking and becoming much saltier.

To address these issues, the regional county governments and water agencies got together in 1993 and formed the Salton Sea Authority. The Authority has studied a range of options for addressing the Sea's problems. Several of the early options studied involved canal and pipeline combinations for exchange of water between the Salton Sea and either the Pacific or the Gulf of California. Their focus was limited to stabilizing the water level and managing water quality in the Salton Sea, so they did not include the energy or shipping functions of this proposal.

In May 2007, the Salton Sea Authority issued its "Preferred Alternative and Funding Plan" 3. None of the canal and pipeline options made the cut for consideration in the final selection. That angered not just die-hard canal proponents, but also others who want to see the Salton Sea restored and maintained at its full current size. The "preferred alternative" that was selected reduces the marine sea to less than 10% of its present area. With no canals or pipelines for water exchange, the reduction is necessary in order to slash evaporation losses and accommodate the reduced inflow of irrigation runoff from the Colorado River.

I can't fault the Salton Sea Authority for the plan they selected. In fact, I think it's rather elegant, in the way it manages to preserve the existing shoreline while creating new wetland habitat. The Authority has selected what is probably the most cost-effective alternative for the specific problems it was chartered to address.

On the other hand, there's no question that the canal project described here would also serve to stabilize the Salton Sea and maintain its salinity at an ecologically productive level. The twice daily tidal flows through the canal combined with pumped storage operations would support a high volume of water exchange between the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California. It should be ample to avoid salt build-up, without the need for dikes and impoundments in the Salton Sea. The daily cycling of water through the salt marshes along the canal would provide natural filtration and fertilizer uptake that should eliminate problems with algae blooms. In terms of initial cost, it would be an expensive solution to the Salton Sea's problems. But it would be a solution.

Desert Impact

The open water surfaces of the canal and its salt water lakes and marshes would be large enough to affect regional micro-climate. It would increase average humidity downwind of the canal by a small amount and moderate local day-night temperature swings. Since all moisture that evaporates at one location on the earth ultimately falls as rain somewhere else, the project should (theoretically) increase rainfall in northern Mexico, southern Arizona, and west Texas. Whether the effect would be large enough to notice, I don't know.

The real impact would be from the influx of business and population that would follow completion of the canal. The many dozens of storage lakes built around the canal would create some thousand miles of waterfront in what was previously empty desert. The bluffs formed by excavation of a large sea level canal would host prime view lots overlooking the landscaped canal corridor. It's likely that within two decades, the canal would develop into the central artery of an extended "linear city". That prospect will be sufficient to turn some environmentalists solidly against it. Many abhor the idea of building new cities in the desert, when the earth is already in crisis from overpopulation and dwindling resources.

I see it differently. We do face an urgent need to slash consumption and find ways to live more efficiently. However, when efficiency is the goal, building from scratch is often a lot easier than trying to reform a complex existing system. It's not actually all that hard to build super-insulated buildings that require negligible energy expenditure for heating and cooling -- even in the desert. It's also fairly easy to design for very low water usage. Dry climate landscaping, drip irrigation, and low-flush toilets are only the beginning. When fresh water must come from solar-powered desalination plants, there is an economic incentive to use it sparingly. Innovations like blown-mist shower systems, adapted from submarines, start to make sense. The planned communities that will develop along the canal route could be showcases for low-impact, post-carbon lifestyles.

Gulf Impact

The most problematic area of environmental impact would be to the Gulf of California. The Gulf is a rich area for marine biology. Its nutrient-rich waters are home to a range of unique species, and provide the winter breeding and nursery waters for the California Grey Whale. A sizeable region at its northern end is designated by the Mexican Government and by the U.N.'s Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a biosphere reserve.

The canal route that I described above would cut straight through the biological reserve. In itself, that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, because sea walls would isolate the canal from the shallow coastal waters and wetlands of the reserve. But construction of the canal and sea walls could be very disruptive. So an alternative route that would bypass the reserve might have to be used. That route would pass west of the Colorado River delta and open into the Gulf near the town of San Felipe, well south of the delta area. That route would be about 35% longer than the most direct route to the head of the Gulf. As it happens, though, there has long been interest in Mexico for building a sea-level canal along a good portion of that route. It would connect to and flood the dry lake bed of Laguna Salada, and create a local seaport for that region of Baja California.

The most controversial impact to the region is probably the large influx of tourists and recreational boating that the canal would enable. At present, the only access to the Gulf of California from the heavily populated California coast is a long slog around the Baja peninsula. That has kept the gulf comparatively unspoiled and free of large-scale development. The canal would most certainly change that. But that might not be a bad thing for local marine life. Isolation has by no means prevented the gulf's waters from being heavily overfished. Some once-popular species have already been fished to apparent extinction. A healthy tourist industry based around diving and sport fishing could be the only realistic way to curtail overfishing and conserve local marine life. At least, that seems to be how it has worked in some other areas.4

Notes and References

1. Valentine, Harry, The Potential for Seasonal Energy Storage, Click Here

2. Energy of Sea Water Desalination, Click Here

3. Click Here

4. See, for example Click Here and linked reports on the job creation and economic benefits of marine conservation. The jobs created are mostly in tourism, and provide relief to the poverty that drives overfishing in less developed areas.

The other Canal

Osprey - 10-22-2014 at 08:46 AM

Mexitron, great workup by Valentine/Arnold. For the story attached about a canal from Santa Rosalillita to BOLA I should have used the title "It's not My Fault".

Attachment: Canal.doc (35kB)
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Mexitron - 10-22-2014 at 11:58 AM

Hah, beautiful one Osprey! Point taken though---a shipping canal might just put Escalera nautica back into production.....eek!

Mexitron - 10-22-2014 at 12:02 PM

Though I must say the idea that a port in the Salton Sea area would supplant the proposed port at Colonet is appealing, for my own selfish reasons anyway (the Colonet mesa and environs is an amazing juxtaposition of several floristic areas).

Mexitron - 10-22-2014 at 01:56 PM

....and, if sea levels are really going to rise from climate change the sea will be recreated on its own. This map shows that even with a 3 foot rise that the ocean will get into the Salton Sink...wow, if true. http://geology.com/sea-level-rise/

David K - 10-22-2014 at 04:26 PM

I had to go to 13 meters above sea level to see the Salton Sea and Gulf connect? I think it is just using a computer to show additions to sea levels... note the Dead Sea and Death Valley are also filled with water, but not connect to the sea.

PaulW - 10-22-2014 at 04:42 PM

What ever happened to the project to make a boat passage north from the sea of C to the inland seas?

Slab City comes of age?

thebajarunner - 10-22-2014 at 06:22 PM

Think about the opportunity for the noble citizens of The Slabs.
California splits into six states, the Salton Seaport becomes a reality and Slab City is the new capitol city of SoCalDesertState.

Mexitron - 10-23-2014 at 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
I had to go to 13 meters above sea level to see the Salton Sea and Gulf connect? I think it is just using a computer to show additions to sea levels... note the Dead Sea and Death Valley are also filled with water, but not connect to the sea.

I think you're right, that sounds much more realistic.

David K - 10-24-2014 at 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexitron

Quote:

I think you're right, that sounds much more realistic.

Exactly why I am compelled to respond to other popular hysteria of this age... to find what is real and not made up!