Geotechnical Work to Begin on North Lake Salton Sea Project

NORTH SHORE – Riverside County and Salton Sea agency partners invite media and the community to a public event in North Shore next week to mark reaching a significant milestone in the development of the future North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project.

At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, October 19, state and local officials will be on hand as engineering firm, Dudek, starts geophysical survey work on the project.

The public event will be held at the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club Community Center, located in North Shore, 99-155 Sea View Dr. The Yacht Club overlooks where the future project will be, along Riverside County’s northern shore of the Salton Sea.

The event will give the community a chance to interact with state and local officials, ask questions and learn more about how this much anticipated project is progressing.

“The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project will be the first major revitalization project for the Salton Sea’s northern shore,” said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “It will revitalize the Salton Sea and also the community of North Shore.”

Supervisor Perez adds, “Having an event like this is an opportunity for community members to see an environmental project, and the kind of work that is done to create habitat for wildlife and mitigate dust from the receding Salton Sea. Coachella Valley residents may not be aware of the over 5,000 acres of active restoration projects around the Salton Sea under construction because the work has all taken place in Imperial County, which has a much larger portion of the Salton Sea. Well, this will be an opportunity for folks to know that work in Riverside County, on a major project that we have pushed, is gearing up as well.”

The North Lake Pilot Demonstration Project is a joint project of Riverside County and the Salton Sea Authority in collaboration with the state’s Salton Sea Management Program. The vision of the project is to build an approximately 156-acre lake with both shallow and deep-water habitat. The lake would restore and manage habitat for fish and birds, control dust, provide recreational opportunities, and revitalize the northern end of the Salton Sea as well as the community of North Shore.

The project is being implemented by Riverside County on behalf of the grantee, the Salton Sea Authority, with $19.25 million in state funding from the California Department of Water Resources.

Dudek and their teaming partner WSP will start geophysical surveys to study the soil properties and types, which will factor into the engineering design of the project. Up to 36 geophysical survey lines will be evaluated at ground surface, with sensors placed along the survey lines at specific intervals to measure seismic wave velocity variations to help map subsurface soil properties and types. The results of the surveys, combined with additional geotechnical investigation means that Dudek and WSP will be performing at the site will help advise the requirements and approach used for grading and berm construction of the future habitat and recreation project.

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