There are no easy fixes to a West that has grown and has allocated all of its water theres no silver bullet, she said. General Manager Henry Martinez also warned that cutting water to Imperial Valley farmers and nearby Yuma County, Arizona, could lead to a food crisis as well as a water crisis. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. 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. All rights reserved. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? Why are they so hard to catch? But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. "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 . Why can't California build a pipeline for water from other states That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. 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. The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. Absolutely not," said Meena Westford, executive director of Colorado River resource policy for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. 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. 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. Facebook, Follow us on Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. The main pipeline would span about 1,000 miles from Jackson, Miss., along the southern borders of Colorado and Utah to Lake Powell, at an elevation of about 3,700 feet. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. 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. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. Dothey pay extra for using our water? Can the Mississippi River save Arizona? - wmicentral.com Simulation of monthly mean and monthly base flow of streamflow using 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. "Sometimes there is a propensity in areas like Louisiana or the Southwest, where we've had such success in our engineering marvels, to engineer our way out of everything," Newman said. The Abandoned Plan That Could Have Saved America From Drought He frames the pipeline as a complement to water-saving policies. 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 . In China, the massiveSouth-to-North Water Diversion Projectis the largest such project ever undertaken. It boggles the mind. He said the most pragmatic approach would only pump Midwest water to the metro Denver area, to substitute forimports to the Front Range on the east side of the Rockies, avoiding "staggering" costs to pump water over the Continental Divide. Can Water Megaprojects Save The US Desert West? (Part 2) Water thieves abound in dry California. 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. Here are 2 reasons why the drought in California won't open the door to Yes, it would be hugely expensive. Still, its physically possible. 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. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. Haul icebergs from the Arctic to a new southern California port. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. As recently as 2021, the Arizona state legislature urged Congress to fund a technological and feasibility study of a diversion dam and pipeline scheme to harvest floodwater from the Mississippi River to replenish the Colorado River. Letters to the Editor: Antigovernment ideology isnt working for snowed-in mountain towns, Letters to the Editor: Ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene? What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. Environmental writerMarc Reisner said the plan was one of "brutal magnificence" and "unprecedented destructiveness." 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. But if areas like the Coachella Valley continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, "we're screwed," he said bluntly. Water from these and other large rivers pour. Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Nonetheless, Siefkes trans-basin pipeline proposal went viral, receiving nearly half a million views. 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. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. California Gov. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis. Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but require decades of construction and billions of dollars. . Arizona is among six states, that released a letter and a proposed model for how much Colorado River water they could potentially cut to stave off a collapse. Pipeline from the Mississippi River to Colorado? - Coyote Gulch ", But desert defenders pushed back. The . All rights reserved. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. As zany as the ideas may sound, could anywork, and if so, what would be the costs? 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. So moving water that far away to supplement the ColoradoRiver, I don't think is viable. But water expertssaid it would likely take at least 30 years to clear legal hurdles to such a plan. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Yes. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. It is a minimum of 1,067 miles from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River if it could be built in a fairly straight line (St. Louis to Grand Junction, Colorado, based on the route of. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Tina Peters convicted of government obstruction charge, acquitted of obstructing a police officer, (720) 263-2338 Call, text, Signal or WhatsApp, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. 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. Lake Superior Water Headed to the Southwest - Word on the Street The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. But it's doable. Answer (1 of 21): Interbasin transfer is something we try to avoid. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. A water pipeline like Millions would help, if he could wave a magic wand and build it, but Fort believes the present scramble over the Colorado River will likely make such projects impossible to realize. The hypothetical Mississippi River pipeline, which gained new life last year amid devastating drought conditions, is a case in point. For instance, a Kansas groundwater management agency received a permit last year to truck 6,000 gallons of Missouri River water into Kansas and Colorado in hopes of recharging an aquifer. 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. 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. Idaho joins Texas lawsuit against Biden administration over federal 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. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. The total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. 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. 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. Water Piped to Denver Could Ease Stress on River - The New York Times Theyre all such hypocrites. Booming Utah metro wants to pipe in water from Lake Powell so it can Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . 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. Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. The Nevada Legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would require restaurants to only provide water upon customer request. Photos of snowfall around northern Arizona. A drive up Interstate 5 shows how muchland has been fallowed due tolack of water. Any water diversion from the Mississippi to Arizona must be pumped about 6,000 feet up, over the Rockies. The water pipelines from the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa connecting to the headwaters of the Colorado River at the Rocky Mountain National Park. Canadian water for California's drought? - High Country News Power from its hydroelectric dams would boost U.S. electricity supplies. As the West bakes, Utah forges ahead with water pipeline "This sounds outlandish, but we have a massive problem," Paffrath said. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Politics are an even bigger obstacle for making multi-state pipelines a reality. Pitt, who was a technical adviser on Reclamation's2012 report,decried ceaselesspipeline proposals. On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. An earlier version of this story misidentified for which agency Jennifer Pitt was a technical adviser. Million sued, and he says he expects a ruling this year. Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. Who is Kevin Paffrath? Democrat recall candidate calls for a pipeline It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? 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. Some plans call for a connection to. What if our droughts get worse? 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. We are already in a severe drought. Here in the scorching Coachella Valley, local governments have approved construction of four surf resorts for the very wealthy. You could do it.". As politicians across the West confront the consequences of the climate-fueled Millennium Drought, many of them are heeding the words of Chinatown and trying to bring in outside water through massive capital projects. Scientists estimate a football field's worth of Louisiana coast is lost every 60 to 90 minutes. Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". 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. Is sending Mississippi water to West feasible? Experts weigh in
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