# Just When You Thought California Couldn't Get Crazier! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840 "2012-07-30T11:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/1 "2012-07-30T11:31:22Z")
A developer wants to turn the Salton Sea into a luxury resort area! Link:[A New Salton Sea - Slide Show - NYTimes.com](http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/07/30/us/20120730-Salton-12.html) Imagine-luxury condos and homes-next to a drying-up salt lake that stinks of dead fish! I was always fascinated by the Salton Sea-in the 1950’s it was a popular vacation spot. Now it resembles popular depictions of Hell. For you SoCal Dopers-would you ever seriously consider living there? And where is the money coming from? Suppose enough water became available to replenish the Salton Sea-and the fishing recovered-would it ever become a popular resort place again? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/2 "2012-07-30T16:18:21Z")
They’ve been wanting to do something like this for years. Mr. Neville’s grandfather got snookered into buying property there a long time ago as an investment. It never went up in value. (Mr. Neville’s grandfather was a great guy, but not someone you should have taken investment advice from) There are presumably other people who did the same and would like to make back their money. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/3 "2012-07-30T16:23:07Z")
Show a developer an undeveloped space and he wants to put something there no matter how ill-conceived it may be. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/4 "2012-07-30T16:30:20Z")
Really. Out here in suburbia, developers have never stopped building houses in whatever vacant lots they could find, despite the fact that, until just a couple of months ago, _nobody_ was buying them. I can’t imagine how much money was lost like this. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/5 "2012-07-30T16:48:31Z")
Only worth it if they can get the water to fill it back up again. Given that if they do NOT fill it up, the dried up chemicals, etc. will cause a nasty set of dust storms - there is an assumption that someone will break down and get more water into it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/6 "2012-07-30T16:52:00Z")
The question is “from where?” There isn’t going to be another mega-flood of the Colorado River, which is what caused the Salton Sea in the first place. The rivers that feed it can’t keep up with evaporation, and I don’t think there are enough Desani bottles in the world to make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/7 "2012-07-30T16:55:19Z")
Quote from the slide show: > [@](#): > > Recreational bodies of water don’t stay unoccupied forever Tell that to people living along what used to be the shores of the [Aral Sea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea). The Aral Sea was a natural lake, unlike the Salton Sea, and had been there longer than the Salton Sea has. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/8 "2012-07-30T18:54:46Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Show a developer an undeveloped space and he wants to put something there no matter how ill-conceived it may be. Ain’t that the truth. How else would you explain Florida? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/9 "2012-07-30T19:12:23Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > A developer wants to turn the Salton Sea into a luxury resort area! > Link:[A New Salton Sea - Slide Show - NYTimes.com](http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/07/30/us/20120730-Salton-12.html) > Imagine-luxury condos and homes-next to a drying-up salt lake that stinks of dead fish! And won’t the giant prehistoric reconstituted man-eating snails put a damper on things? I can see them seriously depressing property values [Yahoo Image Search](http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&sz=all&va=the+monster+that+challenged+world) [The Monster That Challenged the World - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_That_Challenged_the_World) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/10 "2012-07-30T19:16:08Z")
> [@](#): > > …won’t the giant prehistoric reconstituted man-eating snails put a damper on things? Don’t worry, Hans Conried has it under control. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/11 "2012-07-31T23:45:17Z")
I was reading up on the tragic story-and these developers actually have a good idea-IF the State and Federal Governments were to save the dying Salton Sea. Why not divert the Colorado River into the sea, in the winter months? The inflow of fresh water would drop the salinity and restore the fish population. Actually, increasing the size of the sea would be a good idea-it could be a hugely productive fishery, if the fish populations could be re-established. The commercial fishery could be huge-and it would be easy to fish. Plus , the area is the beast in the continent for solar energy. So what I thought was crazy, actually has a lot of potential.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/12 "2012-08-01T19:26:20Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was reading up on the tragic story-and these developers actually have a good idea-IF the State and Federal Governments were to save the dying Salton Sea. > Why not divert the Colorado River into the sea, in the winter months? The inflow of fresh water would drop the salinity and restore the fish population. Actually, increasing the size of the sea would be a good idea-it could be a hugely productive fishery, if the fish populations could be re-established. The commercial fishery could be huge-and it would be easy to fish. > Plus , the area is the beast in the continent for solar energy. > So what I thought was crazy, actually has a lot of potential.😃 How much water is there to divert? The aqueduct that supplies Los Angeles is upriver from the Salton Sea. LA takes so much water that the river doesn’t reach the ocean any more. You could probably supply more water to the Salton Sea by peeing into it than you could by diverting the Colorado River. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/13 "2012-08-01T21:50:09Z")
The Salton Sea was featured in an episode of _Life After People_, showing how fast a place can go to pot if it’s abandoned and not maintained. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/14 "2012-08-01T22:05:18Z")
I say dig a channel to the Pacific and let it fill up. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > [Yahoo Image Search](http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&sz=all&va=the+monster+that+challenged+world) > > [The Monster That Challenged the World - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monster_That_Challenged_the_World) Cool 50s scifi overgrown creatures movie, and Tim Holt’s biggest role since Treasure. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/15 "2012-08-01T23:02:28Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > How much water is there to divert? The aqueduct that supplies Los Angeles is upriver from the Salton Sea. LA takes so much water that the river doesn’t reach the ocean any more. You could probably supply more water to the Salton Sea by peeing into it than you could by diverting the Colorado River. In the 107 years of its existence, the Salton Sea must have formed a tremendous aquifer underneath-why not pump this water to the surface? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/16 "2012-08-01T23:28:56Z")
The Salton Sea was filled by accident, and development there was clearly a mistake. Thus, accident + mistake ≠ success. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/17 "2012-08-01T23:43:58Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > In the 107 years of its existence, the Salton Sea must have formed a tremendous aquifer underneath-why not pump this water to the surface? Why _must_ there be an aquifer? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/18 "2012-08-01T23:54:48Z")
Somewhere I read that there is taxpayer money behind this project. Why are California tax payers handing money over to a developer to build this thing on a lake that is located at a cluster of faults that have been shown to get more unstable as water levels rise? I know you guys are probably under “no open burning” rules from drought, but you could at least just toss the money into closed fireplaces. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/19 "2012-08-02T00:00:34Z")
I’m about 40 miles from it, and always want to go photograph it. It’s just really interesting, as it’s decaying away. There’s some movie named The Salton Sea, and I’ll need to find it some day. Judging from police reports, the area is pretty much only populated by stubborn, aint-gonna-move’ers and transients. We have a good number of transient ‘cities’ within a couple hundred miles, some of them almost as odd as Salton. I am thinking maybe people just want it cleaned up to get rid of the crime. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840/20 "2012-08-06T12:57:11Z")
I actually found a good book in my library, about the history of the Salton Sea.It is called “Salt Dreams” , by William deBuys. Back in 1958, a SoCal real estate developer bought 190,000 acres of land (for about $5.00/acre). He then promoted his development-it was going to be the next “Palm Springs”. The eager customers/dupes paid $3600 for a house lot. The developed (M. Penn Philips), made a ton of money-but his development never got built. The problem was that the sea kept rising and falling-and the Imperial Valley (in summer) has long stretches of \>110 degree F days. So it looks like history is repeating itself-except it isn’t 1958, and we are in the middle of a depression. I do think it would be worth saving the Salton Sea-heck, it would cost chump change, compared to what were pissing away in Afghanistan. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-thought-california-couldnt-get-crazier/629840.md?page=2)