Salton Sea Madness

What to do About That Puddle of Filth Known as: The Salton Sea The Salton Sea was once one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state of California. It was teeming with wildlife from shore to shore and thousands of came to see this majestic sea in the desert. Unfortunately it has become a near-environmental disaster. Almost no one wants to claim responsibility for its demise and more importantly, it seems like no one wants to step up to the plate to restore the sea. The Salton Sea is vital to the future of southern California and any restoration effort would be worth the trouble.
The Salton Sea was created in 1905 when massive snow melt and rainfall caused the Colorado River to breach a dike and flood the Salton Sink (a basin in south-east California). For years afterwards the Salton Sea was a popular attraction, bringing thousands of tourists to its shores to witness its splendor. However, because the Salton Sea's main inflow is from agricultural runoff ( disgusting water filled to the brim with pollutants) the Sea became more and more uninhabitable. Seaside towns and resorts became less and less populated and by the mid 1980's the Sea had been abandoned by society. Only the most reclusive people remain in the seaside towns that are now eroded and rundown, accompanied by only the thousands of dead fish carcasses and migratory birds.
The Salton Sea's salinity is rising at a rate of about 1% a year. This is mainly because there is no outflow. The Sea simply stagnates and eventually evaporates. Because of the rising salinity, thousands of fish die each year. The only fish that can still be found in the lake are Tilapia. The sea is also a major haven for migratory birds such as the American White Pelican. If the rest of the Tilapia in the sea die than their will be no food left for the migratory birds. As you can imagine this is not a good scenario for the migratory birds. If the state of California does not act and allows the Salton Sea to effectively rot there are some major scenarios that could play out. If the Sea continues to evaporate at it's current rate than this could create major problems for Southern California's air quality. This is because pollutants generally sink to the bottom of the lake, and if the bottom of the lake is exposed than desert winds will blow these pollutants towards major population centers ( imagine Los Angeles with even more smog). The airborne pollutants would also blow through Palm Springs; a major tourist attraction and resort, resulting in less tourism and therefore less revenue for California.
Politicians have been squabbling over the fate of the Salton Sea for decades. The few who say that they will do something about it usually do not have much support, meaning most people do not care much about the sea. However, time is running short and some critical decisions must be made about the future of the Sea. Some independent organizations have concluded that the best way to restore the sea would be a pipe in/out system, which would pump high salinity water out to the gulf of Mexico and pump lower salinity water into the Salton Sea. This would bring the overall salinity down and help preserve the remaining fish population as well as the migratory birds. Now some may argue that the pipe in/out idea is too expensive and that our tax dollars are going to waste and all that hoohah. Those who argue this point need to be informed that our tax dollars would not be going to waste because restoring the Salton sea would actually pay for itself in the long run. If the Salton sea is restored than it could become the popular tourist haven it once was. If resorts and casinos can be built on the shores of the sea than this would attract large numbers of people. This would generate millions of dollars of revenue for the state of California and those who are apathetic towards the fate of the Salton Sea would realize the stupidity of their initial assessment. The Salton sea is a valuable asset to the great state of California and even to the United States. Without the Sea, thousands of fish and birds will face extinction. The Sea's fate will affect the environment around it as well as millions of Californians.
Any restoration effort would be well worth the time and would eventually benefit our state economy. The Salton Sea has the potential to return to what it once was; A jewel in the desert, but only if Californians decide that it is worth their time.