The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. "Nebraska wants to build a canal to pull water from the SouthPlatte River in Colorado, and downstream, Colorado wants to take water from the Missouri River and pull it back across Nebraska. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. 2023 www.desertsun.com. Its possible that the situation gets so dire that there is an amount of money out there that could overcome all of these obstacles, Larson said. A multi-state compact already prohibits any sale of water from the Great Lakes unless all bordering states agree to it, and its almost certain that Mississippi River states would pass laws restricting water diversions, or file lawsuits against western states, if the project went forward. He frames the pipeline as a complement to water-saving policies. The idea of drinking even heavily treated liquid wastemay seem unpalatable, but Westfordthinks people will adapt. The two reasons: 1) the process of moving water that far, and that high, wouldn't make economic sense; 2) Great Lakes water is locked down politically. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. A pipeline taking water from the Missouri River west makes perfect sense, if you don't care about money, energy, or the environment. About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. Why not begin a grand national infrastructure project of building a water pipeline from those flooded states to the Southwest? Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29. What states in the Southwest have failed to do is curtail growth and agriculture that is, of course, water-driven. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. Here are some facts to put perspective to several of the. But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. A retired engineer suggested a rather outlandish-in-scope but logical-in-approach solution to the seemingly growing floods in the central U.S. and the water woes of the West Coast - build a nearly 1,500-mile aqueduct to connect the two. The California water wars of the early twentieth century are summed up in a famous line from the 1974 film Chinatown: Either you bring the water to L.A., or you bring L.A. to the water. Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since the events the film dramatizes, but much of the West still approaches water the same way. "Should we move the water to where the food is grown, or is it maybe time to think about moving the food production to the water?" One proposed solution to the Colorado River Basin's water scarcity crisis has come up again and again: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched West . Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesn't always have enough water to spare. To the editor: While theres no question that the receding waters of Lake Mead are having a detrimental effect on recreation and tourism, the real looming catastrophe is that if the water level of the nations largest reservoir continues to fall and hits a certain level, the hydroeclectic power plant at Hoover Dam will have to shut down. Most recently, the Arizona state legislature passed a measure in 2021 urging Congress to investigate pumping flood water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River to bolster its flow. Heres why thats wise, Nicholas Goldberg: How I became a tool of Chinas giant anti-American propaganda machine, Opinion: Girls reporting sexual abuse shouldnt have to fear being prosecuted. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. Twitter, Follow us on Over the years, a proposed solution has come up again and again: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched west. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This story is part of the Grist seriesParched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems. Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it was filled 85 years ago. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. It is time to think outside the box of rain. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. . Experts say theres a proverbial snowballs chance in August of most of theseschemes being implemented. Instagram, Follow us on Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. A Kansas groundwater management agency, for instance, received a permit last year to truck 6,000 gallons of Missouri River water into Kansas and Colorado in hopes of recharging an aquifer. Other legal constraints include the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Protection Act and variousstate environmental laws, said Brent Newman, senior policy director for the National Audubon Society's Delta state programs. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. We need to protect our water supply, at allcosts, and forgo our financialgains. pipeline, line of pipe equipped with pumps and valves and other control devices for moving liquids, gases, and slurries (fine particles suspended in liquid). Ultimately the rising environmental movement squelched it the project woulddestroyvast wildlife habitats in Canada and the American West,submergewild rivers in Idaho and Montana,and requirethe relocation of hundreds of thousands of people. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. Asked what might be the requirements and constraints of a pipeline from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Gene Pawliksaid, Since (the Army Corps) has not done a formal study related to the use of pipelines to move water between watersheds, we cannot speculate on the details or cost of such projects.. Still, its physically possible. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. The price tag for construction would add to this hefty bill, along with the costs of powering the equipment needed to pump the water over the Western Continental Divide. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Safety concerns increased in 2020 after a pipeline in Mississippi ruptured in a landslide, releasing a heavier-than-air plume of carbon dioxide that displaced oxygen near the ground. he said. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. Haul icebergs from the Arctic to a new southern California port. Arizona, which holds "junior"rights to Colorado River water, meaning it has already been forced to make cuts and might be legally required to make far larger reductions, wants to build a bi-national desalination plant at the Sea of Cortez, which separates Baja California from the Mexican mainland. And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. The Nevada Legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would require restaurants to only provide water upon customer request. Specifically, start with a line from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River at Lake Powell, where a seven-state compact divvies up the water. . Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. Run a pipeline a few hundred miles to the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs CO which drains into Lake Powell and you are good to go. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". Donate today to keep our climate news free. In 1964, a California engineering company proposed diverting flows from the Yukon and Mackenzie River watersheds, shared by Canada and the U.S., all the way to southern California and into Mexico. At comment sessions on Colorado's plan, he said, long-distance pipelines wereconstantly suggested by the public. Instead, California is focused on better managing the water we have, improving forecasting, and making our groundwater basins more sustainable.. The massive river, with tributaries from Montanato Ohio, is a national artery for shipping goodsout to sea. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. Opinion: How has American healthcare gone so wrong? Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. We have to conserve water, butnota ridiculous wave parkthat willprobably go bankrupt? Famiglietti saidit's time for a national water policy, not to figure out where to lay down hundreds of pipesbut to look comprehensively at the intertwining of agriculture and the lion's share ofwater it uses. All three officials said the construction of a45-mile Delta Water Project tunnel to keep supply flowing from the middle of the state to thirsty cities in the south isvital. As western states grew over the twentieth century, the federal government helped them build several massive water diversion projects that would hydrate their growing urban populations: The Central Arizona Project aqueduct brought water from the Colorado River to Phoenix, for instance, and the Big Thompson system piped water across the Colorado Rockies to Denver. On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. In 2012, the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Reclamation completed the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken within the Colorado River Basin at the time, which analyzed solutions to water supply issues including importing water from the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. and planned for completion in 2050, it willdivert 44.8 billion cubic metersof water annually to major cities and agricultural and industrial centers in the parchednorth. The concepts fell into a few large categories: pipe Mississippi or Missouri River water to the eastern side of the Rockies or to Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, bring icebergs in. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. He said a major wastewater reuse project that MWD plans to implement by 2032 could ultimately yield up 150 million gallons of potable water a day from treated waste. It would cost at least $1,700 per acre-feet of water, potentially yield 600,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2060 and take 30 years to construct. You should worry, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids. This One thousand mile long pipeline could move water from the Eastern USA (Great Lakes, Ohio River, Missouri River, and Mississippi River) to the Colorado River via the Mississippi River. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. No. The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. Experts we spoke with agreed the feat would be astronomical. In southeastern California,officials at the Imperial Irrigation District, which is entitled toby far the largest share of Colorado River water, say any move to strip theirrights would result in legal challenges that could last years. "The engineering is feasible. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. YouTube, Follow us on They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka): Hausler's idea is to bring water from the Mississippi just below its confluence with the Ohio River across Missouri and Kansas into Colorado. Martinez, an engineer who oversaw the construction of pipelines in the Sierra Nevada for Southern California Edison, agrees a 1,500-mile pipeline from the Mississippicould physically be built. The ongoing drought in California has hit its fourth year. Heproposed usingnuclear explosionsto excavate the system's trenches and underground water storage reservoirs. Photos of snowfall around northern Arizona. The pipeline will end in the Rocky Mountain National park. The total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients and invasive species. But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. She said extensive public education, aided by federal mandates and financial incentives, eventually led toa wholesale transition that saves millions of gallons of water. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. Over the years, a proposed solution has come up again and again: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched west. This story is a product of theMississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University ofMissouri School of Journalismin partnership withReport For Americaand theSociety of Environmental Journalists, funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com Here are some facts to put perspective to severalof the opinions already expressed here: An aqueduct running from thelower Mississippi to the Colorado River (via the San Juan River tributary, at Farmington, New Mexico), with the same capacity as the California Aqueduct, would roughly double the flow of thelatter while taking merely 1-3% of the formers flow. "Recently I have noticed several letters to the editor in your publication that promoted taking water from the Mississippi River or the Great Lakes and diverting it to California via pipeline or . That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion.
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