A proposal for the restoration of the Salton Sea, in California, consists of the separation of the lake into main lake and diked impoundment. It is expected that this will eventually reduce the salinity of the main lake, while increasing the salinity of the diked impoundment to that of a concentrated brine. A salinity-balance model is developed to simulate water volume and dissolved-solids concentration throughout the restoration period. Modeling shows that if water deliveries to the Salton Sea continue at recent historic levels, a 50-sq mi (129.5 km²) diked impoundment will fill up with water in 12 years, and the dissolved-solid concentration in the main lake will decrease to only 44.4 ppt. On the other hand, if a phased-in decrease of 200,000 ac-ft/yr (247 million m³) is implemented as planned, the diked impoundment will fill up with salts in 66 years, without accomplishing any salinity reduction in the main lake.