Water began flowing from a pipe onto hundreds of acres of dry, sunbaked lake bed as California officials filled a complex of shallow ponds near the south shore of the Salton Sea in an effort to create wetlands that will provide habitat for fish and birds, and help control lung-damaging dust around the shrinking lake. The project represents the state’s largest effort to date to address the environmental problems plaguing the Salton Sea, which has been steadily retreating and leaving growing stretches of dusty lake bottom exposed to the desert winds. … The habitat area in Imperial County is being filled with water after an adjacent area called East Pond received its first water in April. In the coming weeks, state officials said the flooding of these sections will bring to fruition the first 2,000 acres of the Species Conservation Habitat Project, a central effort in California’s plan for improving conditions at the state’s largest lake.

Other Salton Sea management news:

• Action News Now (Chico, Calif.): California agencies complete New River project for safer, cleaner water in Calexico​
• California Department of Water Resources: News release: State and local agencies complete new river project in Calexico, reaching major public health improvement milestone