Benchmark 3: Evaluation of Alternatives with Respect to Existing Conditions August 2015
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Salton Sea Funding and Feasibility Action Plan Benchmark 3: Evaluation of Alternatives With Respect to Existing Conditions August 2015 Prepared by: Prepared for: This document is prepared as a living document for public review and comment. Comments may be provided to: Salton Sea Authority 82995 Hwy 111, Suite 200 Indio, CA 92201 Email: [email protected] Comments will be reviewed and incorporated as appropriate. If substantive comments are received, a revised document may be produced and distributed. Preferred citation: Salton Sea Authority (2015). Salton Sea Funding and Feasibility Action Plan Benchmark 3 Report: Evaluation of Alternatives With Respect to Existing Conditions, August Report. Revision Record Revisions to this document will be reviewed and approved through the same level of authority as the original document. All changes to the Benchmark 3 Report must be authorized by the Principal in Charge. Date Version Changes January Working Posted on Salton Sea Authority website. 2015 Draft Included changes from draft review by Salton Sea TCT. June 2015 First Updated hydrology section and inflow Complete projections including Figures 48-52, along with Document editorial revisions. August Revision 1 Added this Revision Record. Corrected title of 2015 California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other minor editorial revisions. Updated discussion of historical flows from 2003-present. Tetra Tech, Inc. i August 2015 Executive Summary This report presents a review of Salton Sea restoration alternatives and their components and determine how well they would perform under current and future inflows. Alternatives are considered with respect to existing hydrologic conditions at the Sea, as of 2014, and projected future hydrology. It is intended to inform those who are engaged in planning the restoration and management of the Sea. Data Review and Compilation The majority of the historical water quality data for the New and Alamo Rivers came from the Bureau of Reclamation and the State Water Resources Control Board’s CEDEN website. Peer-reviewed research pertaining to hydrology and water quality in the Salton Sea was included in the data review. Water quality data from the past decade, with a focus on salinity, nutrients, selenium, temperature, dissolved oxygen, transparency, total suspended solids and coliforms, was presented in detail in the Benchmark 2 document and some key findings are summarized in Section 2 of this document. Elevation continues to drop as inflows decrease, causing salinity to rise. Excess nutrients, selenium and oxygen depletion continue to be a problem in the Sea. Full Sea Restoration Investigations and Alternatives Full Sea restoration alternatives from previous investigations are summarized in Section 3.0. Full Sea restoration alternatives include the Authority’s Preferred Restoration Plan (2006), the California Department of Water Resources Alternatives (2007), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) Alternatives (2007) and others. In 2003, “the state legislature directed the State of California to ‘undertake the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the permanent protection of the wildlife dependent on that ecosystem’” (Salton Sea Update). According to the Department of Water Resources their objective is focused on “several key elements: protecting fish; and wildlife, maintaining ecosystem benefits, minimizing air quality impacts, and improving water quality” (Salton Sea Update). Through the departments of Fish and Wildlife (previously Fish and Game) and Water Resources, the state endeavored to bring together all contributing stakeholders involved in the project. After considering a set of eight alternatives, a Preferred Alternative was outlined in detail in 2007. Eight alternatives were evaluated in the Draft PEIR. The Preferred Alternative takes aspects from many of the alternatives evaluated. The Preferred Tetra Tech, Inc. i August 2015 Salton Sea Funding and Feasibility Action Plan _Executive Summary Evaluation of Alternatives With Respect to Existing Conditions Alternative includes Saline Habitat Complex in the northern and southern seabed, a Marine Sea that extends around the northern shoreline from San Felipe Creek to Bombay Beach in a “horseshoe” shape, Air Quality Management facilities to reduce particulate emissions from the exposed playa, brine sink for discharge of salts, Sedimentation/Distribution facilities, and Early Start Habitat to provide habitat prior to construction of the habitat components. The Preferred Alternative also could be configured to accommodate future geothermal development. In 2006, the Salton Sea Authority (The Authority) formulated a plan to provide a restored Sea along the current shoreline along with the development of habitat areas that could stimulate the development and improve the economic conditions for the Tribe and Imperial and Riverside counties. Their plan involves five essential components: in-Sea barrier and circulation channels, water treatment facilities, habitat enhancement features, Colorado River water storage, and park; open space; and wildlife areas. The Bureau of Reclamation, in September 2007, responded to the Water Supply Reliability and Environmental Improvement Act (Public Law (P.L.) 108- 361) by performing a feasibility study to determine a preferred alternative action for restoring the Salton Sea. The primary objective was to identify methods to restore the Sea’s ecosystem and provide permanent protection of the wildlife sustained on that ecosystem. Two secondary objectives of Reclamation’s study were to promote human activities supported by the Sea, and to manage air quality. To accomplish their objectives Reclamation presented six different alternatives: 1. Mid-Sea Dam with North Marine Lake 2. Mid-Sea Barrier with South Marine Lake 3. Concentric Lakes 4. North-Sea Dam with Marine Lake 5. Habitat Without Marine Lake 6. No Project Evaluating the alternatives involved considering a series of risks: selenium risks to fish-eating birds, selenium risks to invertebrate-eating birds, hydrodynamic/stratification risks, eutrophication risks, fishery sustainability risks, and future inflow risks. Due to a “lack of data” and irresolvable issues of “hydrologic and biologic uncertainties” none of the alternatives presented in the 2007 Executive Summary Report were recommended. Other earlier investigations are included in this report, including Pacific Institute’s Proposal (2001), US Filter Corporation Proposal (2002). Previously proposed ideas are revisited, including multiple dike proposals, central August 2015 ii Salton Sea Authority Salton Sea Funding and Feasibility Action Plan Evaluation of Alternatives With Respect to Existing Conditions Executive Summary_ causeway option, pipelines and canals, and a list of ideas from the Authority’s early screening process. Other Restoration Concepts Other restoration concepts, including partial solutions are discussed in Section 4.0. A number of concepts were developed in response to the Salton Sea Reclamation Act and subsequently included in the Authority’s “Final Preferred Project Report” Published in July 2004. These include early planning concepts such as on-land solar ponds, enhanced evaporation systems (EES), desalination, and in-Sea solar evaporation ponds. Options designed to be implemented alongside desalination to achieve restoration goals include wildlife disease control, created wetlands, recreation and public information, continuing work on eutrophication assessment and control measures, shoreline cleanup and fishery management. Common components for restoration include determining replacement water sources such as flood flows, the Central Arizona Salinity Interceptor (CASI), the plan for desalting the Colorado River Aqueduct proposed by the City of Brawley, CA, and groundwater sources. Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) Currently, the largest active restoration effort at the Salton Sea is the State’s Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) Project. The SCH is a piscivorous bird habitat restoration project with multiple alternatives. The goals of the project are to develop a range of aquatic habitats that will support fish and wildlife species dependent on the Salton Sea; and to develop and refine information needed to successfully manage the SCH Project habitat through an adaptive management process. Six alternatives plus a “No Action” alternative are discussed in Section 5.0. Components of the various alternatives are discussed. Evaluation of Alternatives under Projected Inflows Hydrology data including inflow projections by water districts in the region were compiled and existing Salton Sea hydrological models were updated with existing conditions. Inflow projections and the supporting hydrologic data are discussed in Section 6.0. The latest inflow projections are based on the most current information regarding the Quantification Settlement Agreement, river flows, other project water requirements in the region, agricultural discharge, evaporation and climate change. Water use was estimated for each alternative and for currently planned or ongoing restoration projects. Projections include the potential for new sources and sinks of Salton Sea water including the Santa Ana Regional Interceptor (SARI) Pipeline, a potential brackish line from Tucson, Arizona being considered by Reclamation, a potential brackish line for the construction of a water Tetra Tech, Inc. iii August 2015 Salton Sea Funding and Feasibility Action Plan _Executive Summary Evaluation of Alternatives With Respect to Existing