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. And contrary to Siefkes' claims, experts said, the silty river flows provide sediment critical to shore up the rapidly disappearing Louisiana coast andbarrier islands chewed to bits by hurricanes and sea rise. after the growth in California . 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. Instagram, Follow us on Palm Springs newspaper readers' drought fix: Siphon Mississippi 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. "I'm an optimist," said Coffey, who said local conservation is key. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. Grab hydrogen and oxygen from the air and make artificialrain. 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. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? Water from these and other large rivers pour. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. 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. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. Certainly not the surrounding communities. If this gets any traction at all, people in the flyover states of the Missouri River basin probably will scream, one water official told the New York Times when the project first received attention. Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars. But Denver officials have expressed skepticism,because Missouri or Mississippi water isof inferior quality to pure mountain water. Pipeline debate at center of California carbon capture plans Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. A man from Minnesota wrote to the Palm Springs Desert Sun earlier this month and expressed similar sentiments, warning, If California comes for Midwest water, we have plenty of dynamite.. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . 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. continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. Seeking answers,The Desert Sun consultedwater experts, conservation groups and government officials for their assessments. . The elephant in the room, according to Fort, is agriculture, which accounts for more than 80 percent of water withdrawals from the Colorado River. No. Famiglietti said as long as urban areas in the West don't persist in untrammeled growth, they have enough supply for the immediate future, with the ability to rip out lawns, capture stormwater runoff in local reservoirs, do municipal audits to fix leaks and other tools. Diverting the Missouri River to the West: 'Can' Does Not - HuffPost 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. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. 2023 www.desertsun.com. 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? Shipping Snow: Could Eastern Water Ease Western Drought? Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. "The engineering is feasible. YouTube, Follow us on Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. If a portion of the farmers in the region were to change crops or fallow their fields, the freed-up water could sustain growing cities. A water pipeline from the Mississippi River to the west? - Los Angeles Drought Revives Mississippi River Pipe Dreams - The Waterways Journal On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. The Great Lakes Compact, signed by President George W. Bush in 2008,bans large waterexportsoutside of the areawithout the approval of all eight states bordering them andinput fromOntario and Quebec. 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.. Flooding along the Mississippi River basin appears to have become more frequent in recent years, as has the [] Colorado River crisis: Can water be piped from Mississippi, Missouri? The water pipelines from the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa connecting to the headwaters of the Colorado River at the Rocky Mountain National Park. An "interstate water system" could fix the West's water woes 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. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. The Abandoned Plan That Could Have Saved America From Drought Arizona lawmakers want to build a pipeline from the Mississippi River more than a thousand miles away, a Colorado rancher wants to pipe water 300 miles across the Rockies, and Utah wants. Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. 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. Arizona and Nevada residents must curb their use of water from the Colorado River, and California could be next. What states in the Southwest have failed to do is curtail growth and agriculture that is, of course, water-driven. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? For as long as this idea has been proposed. Butbig water infrastructure projects aren't just of interest to the general public. 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. 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. 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. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. 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. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. Is California still in a drought? Recent storms fill many CA reservoirs I think the feasibility study is likely to tell us what we already know, he said, which is that there are a lot less expensive, less complicated options that we can be investing in right now, like reducing water use. . Famiglietti saidit's time for a national water policy, not to figure out where to lay down hundreds of pipesbut to look comprehensively at the intertwining of agriculture and the lion's share ofwater it uses. "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?" 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. 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? Letters to the Editor: Really, Californians? Another call for a water "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". Follow us on The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations. 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. While they didnt outright reject the concepts, the experts laid out multi-billion-dollar price tags, including ever-higher fuel and power costs to pump water up mountains or over other geographic obstacles. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. 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. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. There are no easy fixes to a West that has grown and has allocated all of its water theres no silver bullet, she said. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. Water Pipeline: From Mississippi River To The West? - YouTube An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet to Larsons knowledge. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. Any water diversion from the Mississippi to Arizona must be pumped about 6,000 feet up, over the Rockies. 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. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations, bans large waterexportsoutside of the area. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. The federal Bureau of Reclamation has already looked at piping 600,000 acre-feet of water a year from either the Missouri or the Mississippi. No. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Instead, California is focused on better managing the water we have, improving forecasting, and making our groundwater basins more sustainable.. Every day, we hear about water conservation, restrictions. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. The water will drain into the headwaters of the Colorado river. Why not begin a grand national infrastructure project of building a water pipeline from those flooded states to the Southwest? It was the Bureau of Reclamation. The memorial also suggests that the pipeline could be used as stormwater infrastructure to prevent regular flooding along the . 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. But interest spans deeper than that. You tellgolf courses how much water they can use, but one of thelargest wave basins in the world is acceptable? 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. And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. 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. 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. My state, your state. "People are spoiled in the United States. Heres how that affects Indigenous water rights, Salton Sea public health disaster gets a $250 million shot in the arm. Heproposed usingnuclear explosionsto excavate the system's trenches and underground water storage reservoirs. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. But it's doable. 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. Viaderos team estimated that the sale of the water needed to fill the Colorado Rivers Lake Powell and Lake Mead the largest reservoirs in the country would cost more than $134 billion at a penny a gallon. "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 this a goo. Similar ideas have been suggested about Great Lakes water. Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Pipeline | Definition, History, Types, Uses, & Facts | Britannica Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. after the growth in California . 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. Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. The Arizona Legislature wants the federal government to study the feasibility of constructing a pipeline . The ongoing drought in California has hit its fourth year. Yes. Here's How. Sharing Mississippi water with California would help feed America - Yahoo! 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. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. 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. Amid a major drought in the Western U.S., a proposed solution comes up repeatedly: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to parched states. A multi-state compact already prohibits any sale of water from the Great Lakes unless all bordering states agree to it, and its almost certain that Mississippi River states would pass laws restricting water diversions, or file lawsuits against western states, if the project went forward. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. If we had a big pipeline from Lake Sakakawea, we wouldn't just dump it into Lake Powell.
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