To the editor: I'd like to ask if the reader from Chatsworth calling for the construction of a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Colorado River reservoirs has ever been to . The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations, bans large waterexportsoutside of the area. Donate today to keep our climate news free. When that happens, it wont be just tourists and recreational boaters who will suffer. California Departmentof Water Resourcesspokeswoman Maggie Maciasin an email: In considering the feasibility of a multi-state water conveyance infrastructure, the extraordinary costs that would be involved in planning, designing, permitting, constructing, and then maintaining and operating such a vast system of infrastructure would be significant obstacles when compared to the water supply benefits and flood water reduction benefits that it would provide. I think it would be foolhardy to dismiss it as not feasible, said Richard Rood, professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. Drainage area 171,500 square miles . The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. 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. Million told Grist that hes secured partial funding for the project from multiple banks and the infrastructure company MasTec, but it remains unclear how much he would have to charge to make the project profitable. Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. The Colorado River is drying up. By George Skelton Capitol Journal Columnist Aug. 30, 2021 5 AM PT SACRAMENTO The award for dumbest idea of the recall election goes to the rookie Democrat who proposed building a water. The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. We need to protect our water supply, at allcosts, and forgo our financialgains. Letter writers have asked why a water pipeline is not constructed from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River. Here are some facts to put perspective to several of the. Politics are an even bigger obstacle to making multi-state pipelines a reality. 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. But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. The idea is as old and dusty as the desert Southwest: Pipe abundant Great Lakes water to parched cities out West, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. An additional analysis emerged a decade later when Roger Viadero, an environmental scientist and engineer at Western Illinois University, and his graduate students assessed proposals suggested in last summers viral editorials. The total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. In northwestern Iowa, a river has repeatedly been pumped dry by a rural water utility that sells at least a quarter of the water outside the state. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. A multi-state pipeline could easily require decades before it delivers a drop of water," said Michael Cohen, senior researcher with the Pacific Institute. Local hurdles include endangered species protections, wetlands protections, drinking water supply considerations and interstate shipping protections. 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. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Environmental writerMarc Reisner said the plan was one of "brutal magnificence" and "unprecedented destructiveness." All rights reserved. Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, pitched a bold idea at a US Chamber of Commerce event last week: divert excess Mississippi River water to the west to irrigate crops to reduce pressure on the stressed Colorado River. Heproposed usingnuclear explosionsto excavate the system's trenches and underground water storage reservoirs. It is time to think outside the box of rain. I have dystopian nightmares aboutpipelines marching across the landscape, saidglobal water scarcity expert Jay Famiglietti. People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants,. For one, theres no longer enough unclaimed water to make most pipeline projects cost-effective. He raised the possibility that policymakers will seek to build a 900-mile pipeline from Lake Superior to the Green River watershed in southwest Wyoming. Instagram, Follow us on The water pipelines from the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa connecting to the headwaters of the Colorado River at the Rocky Mountain National Park. You tellgolf courses how much water they can use, but one of thelargest wave basins in the world is acceptable? 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. Every day, we hear about water conservation, restrictions. Certainly not the surrounding communities. 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. Facebook, Follow us on Not mentioned was the great grand-daddy of all schemes for re-allocating water, known as the North American Water and Power Authority Plan. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Savor that while your lawns are dying. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200 percent of their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too. Large amounts of fossil fuelenergy neededto pump water over the Rockies would increase the very climate change thats exacerbating the 1,200-year drought afflicting the Colorado River in the first place, said Newman, who in his previous job helped the state of Colorado design a long-term water conservation plan. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. Releasing more water downstream would come at the expense of upstream users . The basic idea is to take water from the Mississippi River, pump it a thousand miles west, and dump it into the overtaxed Colorado River, which provides water for millions of Arizona residents but has reached historically low levels as its reservoirs dry up. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. The drought is so critical that this recent rainfall is a little like finding a $20 bill when youve lost your job and youre being evicted from your house, said Rhett Larson, an Arizona State University professor of water law. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. It was the Bureau of Reclamation. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. Buying land to secure water rights would cost a chunk of cash, too, which leads to an even larger obstacle for such proposals: the legal and political hoops. after the growth in California . Fort, the University of New Mexico professor, worries that the bigwigs who throw their energy behind large capital projects may be neglecting other, more practical options. Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. "The desalinationplant Arizona has scoped out would be by far the largest ever in North America,"said Jennifer Pitt, National Audubon Society's Colorado River program director. 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. Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This is the country that built the Hoover Dam, and where Los Angeles suburbs were created by taking water from Owens Lake. It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. Physically, some could be achieved. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. "My son will never know what a six-gallon toilet looks like," she said. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.".
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