2026 Salton Sea Summit: Discussing ways to improve impacts of the Salton Sea

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) - For those who have written off the Salton Sea as an environmental ticking time bomb — or stink bomb — as it may be — the tide may now be turning.

Millions of dollars poured into restoration projects around the Salton Sea are bringing life back. 

"This moment is different. It's backed by real dollars, three-quarters of a billion dollars. It's backed by projects that are basically a year old, where we're already seeing so many birds come out that you can't even see the ground," said Joe Shea of the California Natural Resources Agency.

At the 2026 Salton Sea Summit — government leaders, think tanks, researchers, and more gathered at UCR Palm Desert to hear about the latest efforts to tackle the toxicity of the sea.   

The theme this year, “Spotlight on Solutions.”

"The Salton Sea is not this intractable, insolvable problem. There's absolutely work that we can do, and we have to reject the idea that it's just something that's going to happen to us. We've shown just in the last couple of years that if you put real dollars in, you can get real projects out that are on the ground making a difference," Shea said.

Check Out: Angela Chen's Multi-Part Series on the Salton Sea

Hundreds of people came to hear about the latest mitigation projects as well as the impact of the Colorado River drought. But how is a river that never touches the Salton Sea connected to it?

"Some of that water goes to the Salton Sea. The irrigation runoff from farming in Imperial Valley goes to the Salton Sea, and so everything's connected. That's to say, everything is connected in this Colorado River system," Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy.

The Colorado River is the main source of water for all of the farms in the East Valley and beyond.

And the Salton Sea is almost entirely replenished by farm water runoff.

Part of the summit — focused on the current fight and standoff between states, including California, Arizona, and Colorado -- over their share of water from the river. 

"We don't have an agreement among the seven states that share Colorado River water right at this point to figure out how to share the shortage into the future to get us out of crisis. So we're in a really bad way on the river," Porter said.

Check Out: Angela Chen's Multi-Part Series on the Colorado River

"The scale of this problem is so big that it's going to require all hands on deck, and that means that California is going to have to participate. But just making sure that we're doing it on our terms and in a way that your average citizen, your average farmer or resident can live with," said Jessica Neuwerth of the Colorado River Board of California.

The deadline ticks ever closer — because past 2028 — there is currently no agreement in place between the states. 

The push is always to reduce water use from the Colorado River — all while trying to save the Salton Sea.

Officials say the projects — like putting in native plants and wetland restoration -- have helped tamp down the windblown dust stirring up the exposed playa — which is responsible for nearby residents' respiratory problems.

"What we've seen from our air quality monitoring in the project areas that we have is that we're actually suppressing dust at 75 to 90 percent in our project areas," Shea said.

The takeaway from the summit? Bringing more life — both wild and human — back to the Salton Sea is possible — if people keep the pressure. 

"This community is worth it. They've waited long and had some really tough decades of just inaction, but we're showing that action is possible," Shea said.