On a stultifyingly hot August day, dozens of black-necked stilts and a scattering of white and brown pelicans bob and wheel on the milky blue waters of a manufactured pond, atop what was once the southwestern end of the vast Salton Sea. … The sea — that luminous, sometimes odiferous body of water bordering the Coachella Valley’s southeastern edge — is both California’s largest lake and a huge agricultural drainage with few natural inflows and no outlet to flush pesticides, fertilizers, and other waste from the lake. … But after decades of false starts and dead-end plans, there has been real progress on California’s “first phase” plan to restore habitat or tamp down dust on nearly 30,000 acres of dried-out, polluted lakebed — out of 45,000 already exposed acres. A massive deposit of  lithium, enough to power 375 million electric vehicles, has been mapped deep beneath the lakebed and adjoining lands.

Other Salton Sea news:

• Imperial Valley Press Online: Researchers, officials seek public input on Lithium Valley health assessment