If an impenetrable liner is used, there is no reason why existing land cannot be reclaimed for other purposes when an evaporation pond is no longer being use for its original purpose. Even land once used for primitive evaporation ponds can be reclaimed, provided the soil is tested to ensure that no toxic chemicals or pollutants have leached into it. In cases where brine ponds have overflowed, or when agricultural drainage has released higher than normal levels of salt and other minerals into surrounding soil, salt-loving plants can often be cultivated and will, in time, restore the land to the point where it can be used for other purposes.
Standard ponds that are primarily used for agricultural irrigation runoff and containment purposes, particularly in California, have been successfully transitioned as arable land for crops of native grasses that tolerate high levels of salt in the soil. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley typically require one acre of pond area for every nine acres under cultivation. Reserving this much acreage for runoff compounds the problem in several ways. First, it diminishes the profitability of alfalfa, wheat and cotton crops that require irrigation. Second, the runoff has been found to contain high levels of salt, and sometimes selenium, boron and arsenic that can harm birds and other waterfowl. By planting native grasses that thrive in the salt-rich soil of former drainage ponds, California agricultural researchers have found a solution that is a win-win for farmers and wildlife both. The lush grass provides nourishment for herds of beef cattle, and the cattle crop provides yet another source of income for the farmer.
