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 sharing of water would greatly contribute to California being able to feed the nation. Power from its hydroelectric dams would boost U.S. electricity supplies. Still, its physically possible. 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. The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. 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. 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. Instagram, Follow us on It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. This would take 254 days to fill.. 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. 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. 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. Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it was filled 85 years ago. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. Scientists estimate a football field's worth of Louisiana coast is lost every 60 to 90 minutes. As the largest single contractor of the SWP and a major supporter of Southern California water conservation and recycling programs, Metropolitan seeks feasible alternatives to convey Colorado River Aqueduct supplies or Diamond Valley Lake storage from the eastern portion of its service area or purified water from Pure Water Southern California . Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. Imagine a Five foot diameter, half burried pipeline covered with photovoltaic cells on the upper half. 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. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. For him, thatincludessetting aside at leastportions of the so-called "Law of the River," a complicated, century-old set of legal agreements that guarantees farmers in Southern California the largest share of water. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. . The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. Then take it out of the southern tip of the aquifer in Southern Colorado. Vessels ran aground and had to navigate very carefully. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real solution? 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. 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. Photos of snowfall around northern Arizona. Heproposed usingnuclear explosionsto excavate the system's trenches and underground water storage reservoirs. People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. The memorial is seeking Mississippi River water as a solution to ongoing shortages on the Colorado River as water levels reach historic lows in the two largest reservoirs on the river, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. 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. The diverted flow would require massive water tunnels, since a flow of 250,000. Historian Ted Steinberg said itsummed up "the sheer arrogance and imperial ambitions of the modern hydraulic West.". To the editor: The states near the Gulf of Mexico are often flooded with too much water, while the Southwest is suffering a long-term drought. An acre-foot is enough water to serve about two households for a year, so it could supply water to 150 million customers. As a resident of Wisconsin, a state that borders the (Mississippi) river, let me say: This is never gonna happen, wrote Margaret Melville of Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 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. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. 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. 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. Instagram, Follow us on Absolutely. The Arizona Legislature wants the federal government to study the feasibility of constructing a pipeline . All rights reserved. Fueled by Google and other search engines, more than 3.2 millionpeople have read the letters, an unprecedented number for the regional publication's opinion content. . And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. 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.. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. 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.. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. PROVISIONAL DATA SUBJECT TO REVISION. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. . Drainage area 171,500 square miles . ", Westford of Southern California's Metropolitan Water District agreed. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. 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. You could do it.". Yes. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. A drive up Interstate 5 shows how muchland has been fallowed due tolack of water. Would itbe expensive? 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. It dawned on Million that Colorado had unclaimed rights to water from the Green, since the river was part of the Colorado River system, and he devised a plan to build a pipeline that would pump water around the Rockies to the city of Fort Collins, where he lives. 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, a professor of water law at Arizona State University. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), FILE - Dredge Jadwin, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging vessel, powers south down the Mississippi River Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, past Commerce, Mo. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. The water pipelines from the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa connecting to the headwaters of the Colorado River at the Rocky Mountain National Park. Grist is powered by WordPress VIP. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. California Gov. Newsom said the state must capture 100 million metric tons of carbon each year by 2045 about a quarter of what the state now emits annually. of Engineers has turned back official requests for more water from the Missouri River to alleviate shortages on the Mississippi. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. 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. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? "The engineering is feasible. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. Well, kind of, Letters to the Editor: Shasta County dumps Dominion voting machines at its own peril, Editorial: Bay Area making climate change history by phasing out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters, Column: Mike Lindell is helping a California county dump voting machines. LAS VEGAS -- Lake Mead has nearly set a new record when its water level measured at 1081.10 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. A recent edition of The Desert Sun had twoletters objectingto piping water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River, and on to California. 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 idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. Plus, the federal report found the water would be of much lower quality than other western water sources. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Clouds of birds hundreds of species live in or travel through Louisianas rich Atchafalaya forests each year, said National Audubon Society Delta Conservation Director Erik Johnson. But it's doable. All that snow in Arizona is nice now but officials worry that it could create disastrous flooding and wildfire conditions. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Despite the recent defeat of a major plant in Huntington Beach, after the California Coastal Commission said it was too environmentally damaging, "ocean desalination can't be off the table," said Coffey. I find it interesting that households have to watch how much water theyare usingfor washing clothes, wateringlawns, washing cars,etc. Follow us on By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Environmental writerMarc Reisner said the plan was one of "brutal magnificence" and "unprecedented destructiveness." The hypothetical Mississippi River pipeline, which gained new life last year amid devastating drought conditions, is a case in point. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. 10/4/2021. Dothey pay extra for using our water? Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. 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. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. "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?" About 60 percent of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. We want to have more sustainable infrastructure. "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 . 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. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Here in the scorching Coachella Valley, local governments have approved construction of four surf resorts for the very wealthy. Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. To Larsons knowledge, an in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet. "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. An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet to Larsons knowledge. Every year, NAWAPA would deliver 158 million acre-feet of water to the US, Canada, and Mexico more than 10 times the annual flow of the Colorado River. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. 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. Coffey said the project isn't really a pipeline, but more "a bypass for an aging 60-year-old"system. Twitter, Follow us on And, here in the land of the midnight 90-degree temperatures, we are building our very own ice hockey rink, because there is more than enough electricity to freeze that body of water and keep the arena cold enough to keep the ice from melting. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. John Neely ofPalm Desert responded: "All of these river cities who refuse to give us their water can stop snowbirding to the desert to use our water. 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. Flooding along the Mississippi River basin appears to have become more frequent in recent years, as has the [] On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Precedents set by other diversion attempts, like those that created the Great Lakes Compact, also cast doubt over the political viability of any large-scale Mississippi River diversion attempt, said Chloe Wardropper, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor researching environmental governance. Drought looms over midterm elections in the arid West, From lab to market, bio-based products are gaining momentum, The hazards of gas stoves were flagged by the industry and hidden 50 years ago, How Alaskas coastal communities are racing against erosion, Construction begins on controversial lithium mine in Nevada. Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. The Arizona state legislature allocated seed money toward a study of a thousand-mile pipeline that would do exactly this last year, and the states top water official says hes spoken to officials in Kansas about participating in the project. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . My state, your state. "I'm an optimist," said Coffey, who said local conservation is key. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Moreover, we need water in our dams for. In fact, she and others noted, many such ideas have been studied since the 1940s. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. 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. 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. 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. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. Here are some facts to put perspective to several of the. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. 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. 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. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. When that happens, it wont be just tourists and recreational boaters who will suffer. These canals and pipelines are . The . By the way, none of this includes the incredible carbon footprints about to be stomped on the environment. Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. It would turn the Southwest into an oasis, and the Great Basin into productive farmland. 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. The federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. 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 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. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". 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. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . A pipeline to the Mississippi River Perhaps the biggest achievement Paffrath said he would accomplish if elected governor would be to solve California's water crisis by building a. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Lawmakers targeting hospital facility fees, Whats Working: How a Denver nonprofit is expanding the benefits of work. 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. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. 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. 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. 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. 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?" Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. But interest spans deeper than that. 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. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was . Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. 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. The water will drain into the headwaters of the Colorado river. "Arizona really, really wants oceanfront," she chuckled. Las Vegas' grand proposal is to take water from the mighty Mississippi in a series of smaller pipeline-like exchanges among states just west of the Mississippi to refill the overused. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. When finished, the $62 billion project will link Chinas four main rivers and requiresconstruction of three lengthy diversion routes, one using as its basethe1,100-mile longHangzhou-to-Beijing canal, which dates from the 7th century AD. The lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. 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.
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