Special Report: The History of The Salton Sea

SALTON SEA, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The Salton Sea lies in the northern part of the Imperial Valley.

Looking at the Salton Sea now, it's hard to believe that this was once a beloved resort community. But, the Salton Sea goes way back before it was a tourist destination spot.

The sea wasn't always filled with water until 1905.

"About a hundred and twenty-five years ago some ingenious wildcatting individuals decided. that they could make this valley into an irrigated farm area and did some speculation on as they did that they promoted the idea that this could be a great productive ground which it is and they started drawing water from the colorado river. they cut a line and into this valley and started to develop land and grow crops and more people came," Says District's 1 Board of Supervisor Ryan Kelley.

"And then over the year's the lake started to expand...becoming the Salton Sea. The man-made lake also contains high salinity due to the evaporation of the water. The water is close to the sea level making it twice as salty as ocean water," says Kelley.

The salinity and evaporation of the water has become an issue for local wildlife, causing fish and birds to die and residents in the area to leave.

"A lot of abandon homes...the vegetation, the trees, they're dry. The sea is receding you can tell because you can see where it used to be and where it’s at now," says Niland resident Diana Juarez.

Leaving some of the communities around the area nearly abandoned.

"The sea has affected all the communities not just on this side, but on the west side because people don't come anymore. The tourist are not coming, hunters are not coming, bird watchers are not coming anymore, so that has a big role to play as to why people aren't coming and it hurts our economy," says Juarez.

In the 50s and 60s, it was a popular recreation area. Sonia Herbert, who has been living at Bombay Beach since 1974, remembers what life was like at Bombay Beach.

"It was the Riviera of California. People would come with their boats and go fishing, and catch a corvina this big, big fish, water skiing, swimming...It was wonderful. There was five bars in this town that were packed every weekend. I've seen people from the marina to here in the highway with their boats waiting to get in the water. It was a paradise," says Herbert.

The sea also attracted famous stars, like Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys.

"The March Brothers came here, and Dean Martin and his crew came here. It was a lot of celebrities. There still are lots of celebrities that come, but they come to do videos, music videos and things," says Herbert.

Between 1976 and 1977, the party was shortly over as a tropical storm came and destroyed some of the resorts and marinas that led to a worsened economic and environmental problem.

Now, residents in the area are hoping to keep the Salton Sea alive.

"We have a non-profit organization. It's called NorthEnd Alliance 111, and one of our events every year...This is our third year is to try and bring attention to the sea. People think that there's still a lot of carcases along the shore and that it smells and we want...it's a community event where we bring the community together just for people to see that it’s beautiful out there," says Perez.

Although the water levels still continue to decrease, locals in the area still welcome people to check out the art installations.

Even tourists like Lawrence Hall and his family visiting from Canada came to visit the area for its unique art displays on the shore.

"I've always wanted to venture out south to see what this area is all about, and just lately with YouTube and all those type of things...There's been a whole brunch of YouTubers showcasing the art installation and the different things you can see so we kinda just wanted to see that for ourselves," says Hall.

Leaving just a glimmer of hope that better things might come to the Salton Sea.