And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. Since about 1983, Lake Mead has dropped in volume from full capacity at. Power from its hydroelectric dams would boost U.S. electricity supplies. 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. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. Arizona's legislature allocated$1 billion in its last session for water augmentation projectslikea possible desalination plant, and state officials are in discussions with Mexican officials about the idea, saidBuschatzke. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . We are already in a severe drought. Moreover, we need water in our dams for. Were doing everything we can to minimize impacts, maximize benefits, and this project has a lot of benevolence associated with it. In his vision of the Wests future, urban growth will necessitate more big infrastructure projects like his. Once again, Arizona hopes to import out-of-state water in face of crisis Moreover, we need water in our dams for hydroelectric power as well as for drinking and irrigation, so we would power the Hoover, Glen Canyon and Parker dams. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. Not mentioned was the great grand-daddy of all schemes for re-allocating water, known as the North American Water and Power Authority Plan. What's the solution to West's water crisis? Desperate ideas explained The distance between Albuquerque, for example, and the Mississippi River perhaps the closest hypothetical starting point for such a pipeline is about 1,000 miles, crossing at least three. What goes into the cat-and-mouse game of forecasting Colorados avalanche risks? Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. 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. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? The water would be drained via a 36 inch pipe already installed four miles west of Sugarloaf Mountain outside Marquette. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. In China, the massiveSouth-to-North Water Diversion Projectis the largest such project ever undertaken. Colorado River crisis: Can water be piped from Mississippi, Missouri? Improved simulations of streamflow and base flow for selected sites within and adjacent to the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area are important for modeling groundwater flow because surface-water flows have a substantial effect on groundwater levels. In fact, she and others noted, many such ideas have been studied since the 1940s. 2023 www.desertsun.com. Is pumping Mississippi River water west a solution or pipe dream? But interest spans deeper than that. The California Aqueduct carries about 13,000 cubic feet per second through the Central Valley; the Colorado River atLees Ferry runs about 7,000 to 14,000 cfs; the Mississippi at Vicksburg varies from 400,000 to 1.2 million cfs. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. Water Pipeline: From Mississippi River To The West? - YouTube USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL Their detractors counter that, in an era of permanent aridification driven by climate change, the only sustainable solution is not to bring in more water, but to consume less of it. Yahoo, Reddit and ceaseless headlines about a 22-year megadrought and killer flash floods, not to mention dead bodies showing up on Lake Meads newly exposed shoreline, have galvanized reader interest this summer. Scientists estimate a football field's worth of Louisiana coast is lost every 60 to 90 minutes. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Can Water Megaprojects Save The US Desert West? (Part 2) Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. Famiglietti also said while oil companies are willing to spend millions because their product yields high profits per gallon, that's not the case with water, typically considered a public resource. Inspired by Mao Zedong, who in 1952 observed, "The south has plenty of water and the north lacks it, so if possible why not borrow some?" Experts we spoke with agreed the feat would be astronomical. 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. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. The list of projects that run on similarly magical thinking goes on: Utah wants to build a pipeline of its own from Lake Powell to the fast-growing city of St. George, but Lake Powell has almost no water left. Such major infrastructure is an absolute necessity, said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, who said he represents the governor on all things Colorado River.. The Colorado River's 1922 compact allocated about 23% of the Upper Basin's water to Utah, and the state uses about 72% of that water. continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Answer (1 of 21): Interbasin transfer is something we try to avoid. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Water thieves abound in dry California. 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? "We're going to start to see these reservoirs, which nine of them are already filled from the rain water, so then you add on snow melt and we may have some problems with that as far as flooding . She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com or @janetwilson66 on Twitter. Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". The agency is moving forward with smallerprojects across the state to reduce seismic and hydrologic risks, like eliminating leaks or seepage, including at four existing dams and related spillways in Riverside and Los Angeles counties. To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. 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. Guess Who Proposed the Missouri River Pipeline in the Federal Savor that while your lawns are dying. Drought Revives Mississippi River Pipe Dreams - The Waterways Journal "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. Yes, it would be hugely expensive. Officials imposed the state's first-ever water restrictions on cities and towns, and California farmers are drilling deeper and . The lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. The water, more than 44 million gallons a day, would come from 115 wells drilled between 1,000 and 5,000 feet deep in Beryl-Enterprise, a basin where the state has restricted use of shallow groundwater due to over-extraction. Here are 2 reasons why the drought in California won't open the door to Here are some facts to put perspective to several of the. But interest spans deeper than that. If you dont have enough of it, go find more. She and others worked to persuade reluctant consumers, builders and policymakers to ditchwidely usedsix-gallon flush toilets in favor of perfectly effective two-gallon versions. 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. All rights reserved. The letter and others with an array of ideasgenerated hugeinterest from readers around the country and debate about whether the conceptsare technically feasible, politically possible orenvironmentally wise. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. California wants to build a $16 billion pipeline to draw water out of the Sacramento River Delta and down to the southern part of the state, but critics say the project would deprive Delta farmers of water and destroy local ecosystems. "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?" My state, your state. 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. "To my mind, the overriding fatal flaw for large import schemes is the time required to become operational. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". Siphon off a big portion, and youd be swapping oneecological catastrophe for another, said Audubons Johnson. About 60 percent of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. Politics are an even bigger obstacle to making multi-state pipelines a reality. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. Developed in 1964 by engineer Ralph Parsons and his Pasadena-basedParsons Corporation,the plan would provide 75million acre-feet of water to arid areas inCanada, the United States and Mexico. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. When that happens, it wont be just tourists and recreational boaters who will suffer. But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. 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. Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. Petition End Floods in America by Creating a Pipeline Network to Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. 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. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. Asked about a Mississippi River pipeline or other new infrastructure to rescue the Colorado River, federal and state officials declined to respondor said there was no realistic chance such a major infrastructure project is in the offing. Environmental writerMarc Reisner said the plan was one of "brutal magnificence" and "unprecedented destructiveness." "People are spoiled in the United States. The massive river, with tributaries from Montanato Ohio, is a national artery for shipping goodsout to sea. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. But Denver officials have expressed skepticism,because Missouri or Mississippi water isof inferior quality to pure mountain water. The idea of drinking even heavily treated liquid wastemay seem unpalatable, but Westfordthinks people will adapt. Nonetheless, Siefkes trans-basin pipeline proposal went viral, receiving nearly half a million views. Democrat recall candidate Kevin Paffrath wants filter systems | The "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. But interest spans deeper than that. Their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. 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. Today, any water pipeline could cost from $10 billion to $20 billion with another $30 billion in improvements just to get the water to thirsty people and farms. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. Still, its physically possible. after the growth in California . Canadian water for California's drought? - High Country News But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. Sharing Mississippi River water with California would feed America The Abandoned Plan That Could Have Saved America From Drought Additionally, building large infrastructure projects in general has become more difficult, in part thanks to reforms like the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires that detailed environmental impact statements be produced and evaluated for large new infrastructure projects. A 45-mile, $16 billion tunnel that would mark California's largest water project in nearly 50 years took a step closer to reality this week, with Gov. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. Almost two decades ago, when Million was working on a masters thesis, he happened upon a map that showed the Green River making a brief detour into Colorado on its way through Utah. A federal report from a decade ago pegged an optimistic cost estimate for a similar pipeline at $14 billion and said the project would take 30 years to build; a Colorado rancher who championed the idea around the same time, meanwhile, estimated its costs at $23 billion. 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. But the loss of so much water from the. Two hundred miles north of New Orleans, in the heart of swampy Cajun country, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1963 cut a rogue arm of the Mississippi River in half with giant levees to keep the main river intact and flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. 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. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. I can't even imagine what it would all cost. But water expertssaid it would likely take at least 30 years to clear legal hurdles to such a plan. Can drought-stricken CA get water from Midwest via pipeline? Anyone who thinks we can drain the aquifer and survive is grossly misinformed. It would carry about 50,000 acre-feet of water per year, much less than the original pipeline plan but still twice Fort Collins current annual usage. Leading environmental engineering firm to study alternative water Reader support helps sustain our work. Instagram, Follow us on "We do not expect to see (carbon capture and storage) happen at a large scale unless we are able to address that pipeline issue," said Rajinder Sahota, deputy executive officer for climate change . 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. Plus, the federal report found the water would be of much lower quality than other western water sources. An earlier version of this story misidentified for which agency Jennifer Pitt was a technical adviser. after the growth in California . Why it's a longshot: First, to get across the Continental Divide and into the Colorado River, you'd need an uphill pipeline about 1,000 miles long, which is longer than any other drinking water . Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Even if the government could clear these hurdles, the odds that Midwestern states would just let their water go are slim. Known as one of the greenest commercial buildings in the world, since it opened its doors on Earth Day in 2013 the Bullitt Center has been setting a new standard for sustainable design. We need to protect our water supply, at allcosts, and forgo our financialgains. The trooper inside suffered minor injuries. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real solution? But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Western Water Woes - Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go? The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. 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. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom if he's. Can the Mississippi River save Arizona? - wmicentral.com Haul icebergs from the Arctic to a new southern California port. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. 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. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. Why hasn't the U.S. built an aqueduct or pipeline to divert - Quora Physically, some could be achieved. As zany as the ideas may sound, could anywork, and if so, what would be the costs? Take for instance the so-called Water Horse pipeline, a pet project of a Colorado investor and entrepreneur named Aaron Million. "I started withtoilets, I was the toilet queen of L.A.," said Westford. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. To be talking about pipe dreams when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. 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. The river's web, if some have their way, could become even larger. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. Either way, most of these projects stand little chance of becoming reality theyre ideas from a bygone era, one that has more in common with the world of Chinatown than the parched west of the present. Butbig water infrastructure projects aren't just of interest to the general public. The Old River Control Structure, as it was dubbed, is also the linchpin of massive but delicate locks and pulsed flows that feed the largest bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands in the United States, outstripping thebetter-known Okefenokee Swamp that straddles Georgia and Florida. "I think that societally, we want to be more flexible. Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Every day, we hear about water conservation, restrictions. The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Lawmakers targeting hospital facility fees, Whats Working: How a Denver nonprofit is expanding the benefits of work. 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. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? Instagram, Follow us on The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. "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. YouTube, Follow us on Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. But in the face of continuing, ever-worsening drought and ongoing growth of the cities of the desert Southwest, is there a better idea out there? 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. 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. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. Buying land to secure water rights would also cost a chunk of cash, which leads to an even larger obstacle for such proposals: the legal and political hoops. Its one of dozens of letters the paperhas received proposing or vehemently opposing schemes to fix the crashing Colorado River system, which provides water to nearly 40 million people and farms in seven western states. "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 . Is Getting Great Lakes Water To The Southwest Just A Pipedream The 2012 study didn't discount either option but. On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29.

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