$19M Salton Sea Improvements: Community Invited To Learn More

SALTON SEA, CA — The community is invited this weekend to the first in a series of outreach meetings for the North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project that impacts the northern end of the Salton Sea.

Riverside County, in partnership with the Salton Sea Authority, is managing the $19.25 million North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project, the first major project for the county's portion of the Salton Sea by the community of North Shore.

This weekend's virtual meeting is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, February 5. The meeting will be held via Zoom; Spanish interpretation will be provided. (See Zoom links below.) The meeting will be an opportunity for community members to learn about the project, ask questions, and provide comments on the project.

The vision of the North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project is to build an approximately 156-acre marina near the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club Community Center. The marina would restore and manage habitat for fish, birds and wildlife; control dust; and revitalize the northern end of the Salton Sea as well as the community of North Shore.

“The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project is an important habitat and dust suppression project and a major investment in state funding to revitalize the northern end of the Salton Sea as well as the community of North Shore,” said Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “I am looking forward to launching outreach and community engagement workshops as we get closer to starting this project that will benefit our region, the Salton Sea as a whole, and the residents who live in the area around the Salton Sea. My sincerest thank you to the California Natural Resources Agency staff, the Salton Sea Authority team, our Riverside County team and Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia for securing the funding for this important and exciting project that is coming for the Salton Sea and our region.”

Late last year, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and the Salton Sea Authority board of directors approved reimbursement agreements that allow the county to use the $19.25 million in state funding from the voter-approved Proposition 68 parks bond to manage the project.

Riverside County is serving as a subcontractor to the Salton Sea Authority in consultation with the California Department of Water Resources for the project.

“We are excited to partner with the County of Riverside, a Salton Sea Authority member agency, in the advancement of this important first step in the development of projects at and around the Sea,” said G. Patrick O’Dowd, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority. “The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project will not only provide immediate benefits to the environment, the local community and region, but will greatly inform other, larger-scale projects at the Sea.”

This weekend's Zoom meeting links:

The Zoom link for the 1 p.m. Feb. 5 meeting is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86294358371?pwd=T1U1NTc0Vk43WksybW1Eb0UrNjZmQT09 The meeting ID is 862 9435 8371 with passcode 20220205

The 1 p.m. Feb. 5 meeting will also be conducted in Spanish, with the Spanish stream accessible through this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81602965146?pwd=dFJQdCtWQ1hiWml4OEpFYkF2WTEzUT09 The meeting ID for the Spanish stream is 816 0296 5146 with passcode 20220205