1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. "I think that societally, we want to be more flexible. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. So what are the solutions to the arid West's dilemma, as climate change heats up and California's State Water Project, along with Lake Mead and Lake Powell, shrivels due to reduced snowmelt and rainfall? A Canadian entrepreneur's plan published in 1991 diverted water from eastern British Columbia to the Columbia River, then envisioned a 300-mile pipeline from the river through Oregon to a reservoir near Alturas, California. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. 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. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. 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. About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. The project would have to secure dozens of state and federal permits and clear an enormous federal environmental review; moving the water would also require the construction of several hundred megawatts of power generation. From winter lettuce in grocery stores to the golf courses of the Sun Belt, the Wests explosive growth over the past century rests on aqueducts, canals and drainage systems. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. The Southern Delivery System in the nearby Arkansas River Basin pipes water from Pueblo County more than 60 miles north to Colorado Springs, Fountain and Security. Anyone who thinks we can drain the aquifer and survive is grossly misinformed. In it, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Idaho Attorney General Ral Labrador contend that a new interpretation of a Clean Water Act rule is too vague, oversteps the bounds of federal authority and puts the liberties of states and private property owners at risk. . To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. They includegawky pink roseate spoonbills, tiny bright yellow warblers, known as swamp candles because of their bright glow in the humid, green woods, and more. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. For decades, key stewards of the river have ignored the massive water loss, instead allocating Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico their share of the river without subtracting whats evaporated. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. 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. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. YouTube, Follow us on The hypothetical Mississippi River pipeline, which gained new life last year amid devastating drought conditions, is a case in point. Letters to the Editor: Antigovernment ideology isnt working for snowed-in mountain towns, Letters to the Editor: Ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene? Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. 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. Gavin Newsom also touted desalination in adrought resilience plan he announcedlast week, though in brackish inland areas. Its easy to understand why politicians want to throw their weight behind similar present-day projects, Fort told Grist, but projects of this size just arent practical anymore. 2023 www.desertsun.com. Why are they so hard to catch? If officials approve this, the backlash willresult in everyone using as much water as wecare to. 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. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. 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. Each state along the Colorado River basin had the rights to a certain quantity of river water, divided among major users like farms and cities, and the projects were designed to help the states realize those abstract rights. States wish they wouldnt. A Mississippi pipeline to Lake Powell would need to cut across four states, he and Johnson said, including hundreds of miles of wetlands in Louisiana and west Texas. Do they thank us for using our water? So moving water that far away to supplement the ColoradoRiver, I don't think is viable. The largest eastern river, the Mississippi, has about 30 times the average annual flow of the Colorado, and the Columbia has close to 10 times. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. In their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed, they calculated that a pipe for moving this scale of water would need to be 88 feet in diameter around twice the length of a semi trailer or a 100-foot-wide channel thats 61 feet deep. All it does is cause flooding and massive tax expenditures to repair and strengthen dikes, wrote Siefkes.New Orleans has a problem with that much water anyway, so lets divert 250,000 gallons/secondto Lake Powell, which currently has a shortage of 5.5 trillion gallons. 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. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. It's 2011 and the technology exists to build a series of water pipelines across the US, to channel flood water to holding tanks in other areas, and to supply water to drought stricken areas. 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. By the way, none of this includes the incredible carbon footprints about to be stomped on the environment. Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Most recently, in 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation produced a report laying out a potentially grim future for the Colorado River, and had experts evaluate 14 big ideas commonly touted as potential solutions. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? 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. An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet to Larsons knowledge. An acre-foot is enough water to serve about two households for a year, so it could supply water to 150 million customers. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. This summer, as seven states and Mexico push to meet a Tuesday deadline to agree on plans to shore up the Colorado River and itsshrivelingreservoirs, retired engineer Don Siefkes of San Leandro, California,wrote a letter to The Desert Sun with what he said was asolution to the West's water woes: build an aqueduct from the Old River Control Structure to Lake Powell, 1,489 miles west, to refill the Colorado River system with Mississippi River water. The . These realities havent stopped the Wests would-be water barons from dreaming. Take for instance the so-called Water Horse pipeline, a pet project of a Colorado investor and entrepreneur named Aaron Million. 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. Gavin Newsom if he's. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. The pipeline would provide the Colorado River basin with 600,000 acre-feet of water annually, which could serve roughly a million single-family homes. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. No, lets talk about her, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 15 arrested across L.A. County in crackdown on fraudulent benefit cards, Calmes: Heres what we should do about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Column: Did the DOJ just say Donald Trump can be held accountable for Jan. 6? Facebook, Follow us on Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. The driver of the truck was not injured. Why not begin a grand national infrastructure project of building a water pipeline from those flooded states to the Southwest? 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. YouTube. The project entails the construction of thousands of miles of pipelines and canals, 427 water treatment facilities, countless pumping facilities, and the displacement of 300,000 residents. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. The most obvious problem with this proposal is its mind-boggling cost. Formal large-scale water importation proposals have existed in the United States since at least the 1960s, when an American company devised the North American Water and Power Alliance to redistribute Alaskan water across the continent using reservoirs and canals. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. 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. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. To be talking about pipe dreams when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said.
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