Salton Sea Development: 10-Year Plan, Funding, and Lithium Valley

Salton Sea restoration is a decade-long, half-billion-dollar effort by California and the federal government to convert 29,800 acres of exposed, toxic lakebed into wetlands, habitat ponds, and dust-suppression projects by December 31, 2028, while the region also pursues large-scale lithium extraction from its geothermal brines. The work is overseen by the state’s Salton Sea Management Program and, as of 2025, is finally showing measurable progress after years of missed targets.

Why the Lake Is Shrinking

The Salton Sea has no natural outlet and depends almost entirely on agricultural runoff from Imperial Valley farms. The 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement required the Imperial Irrigation District to transfer up to 300,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water each year to the San Diego County Water Authority and the Coachella Valley Water District for residential use. IID cut agricultural consumption to free up that water, which reduced the runoff keeping the lake alive.¹

IID delivered “mitigation water” to the sea for 15 years as a partial offset. That obligation ended at the close of 2017 and the decline accelerated. By 2020 the sea had dropped 8.4 feet since 2003, and roughly 16,000 new acres of lakebed had been exposed over two decades.²³ Under the QSA’s implementing legislation, California assumed responsibility for any restoration costs beyond what the water agencies had agreed to pay.⁴

The Health Stakes Driving the Work

Wind lifts fine particles off the dry playa carrying sulfate, chloride, pesticides, arsenic, lead, and chromium. The Salton Sea Air Basin exceeds California’s dust standard about 120 days a year, and Imperial County ranks among the worst in the state for particle pollution.⁵

Roughly one in five elementary-school children in the northern Imperial Valley has been diagnosed with asthma, nearly double the statewide average of 12.3%. A cohort study of 722 children found that within about seven miles of the sea, every additional 100 hours of dust storms per year corresponded to a 9.5 percentage-point rise in wheezing.⁶ A study published in October 2025 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine linked cumulative dust exposure to measurably reduced lung function in area children.⁷ Before the pandemic, pediatric asthma emergency visits in the region ran about 75% above the state average.⁵ The burden falls hardest on predominantly Latino, low-income communities, and organizations including Alianza Coachella Valley, Comite Civico del Valle, and Lideres Campesinas have pushed the state to prioritize the most affected neighborhoods.⁸

The 10-Year Plan

California’s Salton Sea Management Program, run jointly by the California Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Water Resources, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, adopted its Phase I blueprint in 2018. The plan commits the state to converting 29,800 acres of exposed lakebed into habitat ponds, wetlands, and dust-suppression projects by December 31, 2028, with at least 14,900 acres dedicated to aquatic habitat.⁹¹⁰ A 2017 State Water Resources Control Board order set annual acreage targets and required the state to make up any shortfall the following year.¹¹

Progress was slow for years. As of 2023, the state was supposed to have completed 11,500 acres but had finished fewer than 2,500.⁴ A surge in funding and several large projects entering construction have since sped up the pace.

Major Restoration Projects

Species Conservation Habitat

The centerpiece is the Species Conservation Habitat project on the sea’s south end, a network of saline ponds, berms, and nesting islands built to support migratory birds and fish while covering exposed playa. Originally planned as 4,100 acres for about $200 million, it more than doubled after the federal government added $245 million through the Inflation Reduction Act. The footprint is now projected above 9,000 acres.¹²

Construction began in January 2020 under a progressive design-build contract in three phases.¹³ Water flowed into the east pond for the first time on May 6, 2025, a mix of Salton Sea water and New River flow, and by late May roughly 2,000 acres of habitat ponds were operational.¹⁴ The state reports the project ahead of schedule and under budget, with full 9,500-acre completion targeted for 2028.¹⁵

North Lake Wetlands

On the sea’s north end near North Shore, the North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project received $19.25 million in Proposition 68 funding in April 2021 to build roughly 70 acres of wetlands and a shallow lake. As of early 2025 it remained in conceptual design with environmental review about 50% complete.¹⁶ The state reached an agreement in principle with the Salton Sea Authority in 2025 for an expanded North Lake Wetlands Project, with contractor selection targeted by the end of 2026.¹⁵

Kane Spring

The Kane Spring Project on the southern shore is planned as a 3,200-acre multi-benefit habitat for shorebirds and desert pupfish. The state is using Proposition 4 bond funds, available since February 2026, to move it through progressive design-build, with bid advertisement targeted for mid-2026 and contractor selection expected in the third quarter of 2026.¹⁵

New River Cleanup

The New River flows north from Mexicali into the Salton Sea and has long been one of the most polluted waterways in North America. Phase 1 of the New River Improvement Project was completed on May 23, 2025, at a cost of $46.5 million in state funding. It included an automated trash screen at the border, a bypass pipeline that routes polluted flows around a 1.5-mile stretch through Calexico, and a pump-back system that replaces the river’s flow with treated wastewater.¹⁷

Dust Suppression and Vegetation

The state and IID have together built more than 6,000 acres of dust suppression projects at a combined cost of over $100 million. Preliminary data suggest treated sites see dust emissions reduced by more than 75%.⁵ Native vegetation plantings at Tule Wash (917 acres completed) and West Bombay Beach (planting concluded in 2025) supplement the engineered dust controls.¹⁵

How It’s Paid For

Restoration money comes from a mix of state bonds, federal appropriations, and local agency commitments. The single largest federal contribution is $250 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, channeled through the Bureau of Reclamation. Of that, $245 million went to the California Department of Water Resources, $2 million each to the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe and the Imperial Irrigation District, and $1 million to the Coachella Valley Water District.¹⁸

On the state side, voters approved Proposition 68 in 2018, providing $200 million for Salton Sea dust mitigation, and Proposition 4 in 2024, which earmarked $160 million for restoration and management plus up to $10 million for the new Salton Sea Conservancy.¹⁵ Governor Newsom’s January 2026 budget proposed an additional $30 million for public access improvements. Combined state and federal investments since 2019 exceed half a billion dollars.¹⁹

The Salton Sea Conservancy

Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 583, authored by state Senator Steve Padilla, in September 2024. The law created the Salton Sea Conservancy within the California Natural Resources Agency, the first new state conservancy in more than 15 years.¹⁹ Its core mission is long-term stewardship: operating and maintaining the habitat and dust-suppression projects the management program builds, and acquiring land and water rights for future work.²⁰

Newsom appointed a 20-member board including state agency, Riverside and Imperial County, tribal, water district, and community representatives.²¹ The board held its inaugural meeting on May 14, 2026, in La Quinta.²⁰ The Conservancy’s operation is legally contingent on the passage of Proposition 4, which voters approved in November 2024.²²

Federal Role

Federal engagement dates to the Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998, which directed the Bureau of Reclamation to study management options.²³ More recently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a programmatic environmental assessment for the state’s management plan and issued a permit in November 2024 that streamlines future project approvals.¹⁰

The Corps is also conducting the Imperial Streams Salton Sea and Tributaries Feasibility Study, authorized under the 2020 Water Resources Development Act, to evaluate long-range restoration alternatives across the basin. Projects identified through the study would be eligible for 65% federal cost-sharing.²⁴ The Bureau of Reclamation signed a programmatic NEPA decision document in 2025 to facilitate land access for state projects on federal land.¹⁵

Lithium Valley

Beneath the sea lies one of the world’s richest lithium deposits. A 2023 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analysis estimated the geothermal reservoir holds about 4.1 million metric tons of lithium, with a potential sustainable production rate of 115,000 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent.²⁵ The Department of Energy has cited more than 3,400 kilotons in reserves.²⁶ The California Energy Commission has awarded over $14 million in lithium research grants since 2017.²⁷

Three companies are pursuing direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines in what has been branded “Lithium Valley.” Controlled Thermal Resources’ Hell’s Kitchen project, backed by Stellantis and valued at $1.8 billion, aims to produce 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate per year initially, scaling to 100,000 metric tons in the 2030s. In January 2025, an Imperial County Superior Court judge dismissed a legal challenge to the project’s environmental approvals; Comite Civico del Valle and Earthworks filed an appeal in March 2025 to the California 4th District Court of Appeal that remains pending.²⁶²⁸ Berkshire Hathaway Energy owns most existing geothermal plants in the area and had three lithium recovery projects in development, all paused in February 2025 to address permitting and infrastructure challenges, with no announced resumption date. EnergySource Minerals plans to build a production facility and has sought Department of Energy loan support.²⁵

No commercial-scale lithium has yet been produced. A 2022 state excise tax under SB 125 imposes levies of $400 to $800 per metric ton on extracted lithium, with 80% of revenue going to the host county and 20% to a Salton Sea restoration subaccount. As of mid-2026, no tax revenue has been collected because commercial extraction has not begun.²⁹

Imperial County released a draft Lithium Valley Specific Plan in February 2025 proposing a zoning framework covering 51,622 acres for geothermal production, mineral extraction, battery manufacturing, logistics, and renewable energy. A revised version and draft program environmental impact report followed in late December 2025. The environmental review identified “significant and unavoidable impacts” across categories including air quality, biological resources, and tribal cultural resources.³⁰ The county extended the public review period to April 17, 2026, after requests from environmental justice groups, tribes, and state agencies.³¹

What’s Still Unresolved

The state remains far short of its 2028 acreage target. As of 2023, fewer than 2,500 of a required 11,500 cumulative acres had been completed.⁴ California also has not identified a long-term funding source for operations and maintenance, estimated at $8 to $10 million a year, and has no management framework in place for the period after 2028 when the current 10-year plan expires.¹¹

The underlying water problem is not being solved. Current plans build habitat on exposed lakebed rather than restoring inflows, so the lake will continue to shrink and expose new playa as Colorado River allocations tighten. A Pacific Institute report concluded that source-level dust suppression alone “will not be sufficient, politically feasible, nor cost-effective” over the long run, and recommended a shift toward exposure-control measures such as home weatherization and air filtration in affected communities.⁵ Under the QSA’s implementing legislation, any future restoration remains “the sole responsibility of the State of California.”⁴

1
Water Education Foundation. Quantification Settlement Agreement
2
KQED. Salton Sea
3
University of California, Riverside Salton Sea Task Force. Framing the Crisis at the Salton Sea
4
Legislative Analyst’s Office. Salton Sea Management Program – Budget
5
Pacific Institute. Salton Sea Air Quality Report
6
ScienceDirect. Salton Sea Dust Exposure and Respiratory Health in Children
7
UC Irvine Public Health. Study Links Wind-Blown Dust From Receding Salton Sea to Reduced Lung Function in Area Children
8
CalMatters. Eastern Coachella Valley Residents Urge the State for Action on the Salton Sea
9
Salton Sea Management Program. Salton Sea Management Program Phase I – 10-Year Plan
10
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Salton Sea Management Plan
11
Legislative Analyst’s Office. Salton Sea Overview
12
Office of the Governor. California Reaches Major Restoration Milestone at the Salton Sea
13
MWH Constructors. Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project
14
Audubon California. Water Flows for First Time Into Major Salton Sea Habitat Project
15
Salton Sea Program. 2026 Annual Report
16
Salton Sea Program. North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project
17
California Department of Water Resources. State and Local Agencies Complete New River Project in Calexico
18
U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General. Bureau of Reclamation Salton Sea Restoration Audit Report
19
California Natural Resources Agency. Governor Newsom, CNRA Launch New Conservancy to Help Accelerate Salton Sea Restoration
20
Audubon California. Salton Sea Can’t Wait – Inaugural Salton Sea Conservancy Board Meeting
21
CalMatters. Salton Sea Conservancy
22
California Air Resources Board. Senate Bill 583 – Salton Sea Conservancy
23
Bureau of Reclamation. Salton Sea
24
Salton Sea Authority. USACE Funding Request Resolution
25
Undark. Clean Energy Salton Sea
26
CalMatters. Salton Sea Lithium Mining
27
California Energy Commission. Lithium Valley Vision
28
Desert Sun. Environmentalists Appeal Decision Favoring Lithium Project Near Salton Sea
29
Imperial County. Lithium Excise Tax
30
Imperial County Planning and Development Services. Lithium Valley Specific Plan Draft PEIR Notice of Availability
31
Imperial County. LVSP PEIR Review Extension