(Phase one of Dust Control Project)...The Imperial Irrigation District says the project is at Red Hill Bay.
The District says they have completed construction of the first phase of its BACM or Best Available Control Measure air quality project at the Salton Sea's Red Hill Bay to implement dust control measures. Using a bull plow pulled behind a tractor, IID's contractor constructed furrows, long narrow ditches typically used in farming for planting or seed irrigation, to modify airflow across the dry lakebed to help decrease the wind velocity at the ground surface .Additionally work has been completed to fill deep holes that posed safety concerns and remove berms that would interfere with water flow to the planned vegetation. When complete, the native vegetation planted by the IID will cover roughly 30% or one square mile of exposed playa at Red Hill Bay. The tillage completed, according to the IID, has the potential to reduce dust emmissions by upo to 90%. Future project phases will address the site's water supply, irrigation and seeding, with vegetation established to the required criteria within five years.