"Five years ago, Lisa Clark and her husband left her hometown of El Centro for Niland, a small town of 500, in search for more affordable housing. But now they’re paying a hidden cost for living just two miles southeast of the Salton Sea.
“I’ve been having very bad asthma lately,” the 56-year-old manager of the Oasis Mobile Village RV Park said. Before, she’d need to use only one inhaler a year; since moving to Niland, she’s been using three. “It’s getting worse, and my husband’s been experiencing the same effect. Our health seems [to be] declining.”
The air quality is notoriously bad near the Salton Sea. As California’s largest lake has continued to evaporate, it’s become saltier and dustier, causing breathing problems for locals like Clark. Alongside the health problems is what she describes as a “putrid dead smell” emanating constantly from the water."
Jireh Deng reports for the Los Angeles Times August 6, 2024.
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