Flooding along the Mississippi River basin appears to have become more frequent in recent years, as has the [] But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. Many sawSiefkes' idea and others like it as sheer theft by a region that needs to fix its own woes. 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. Water is the new oil: Piping Lake Superior water West? Just pump water a few miles from the Mississippi near Des Moines into the Ogallala aquifer. Facebook, Follow us on WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. "I'm an optimist," said Coffey, who said local conservation is key. Every day, we hear about water conservation, restrictions. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. The water would be drained via a 36 inch pipe already installed four miles west of Sugarloaf Mountain outside Marquette. Arizona needs water. But a Mississippi pipeline is a pipe dream Physically, some could be achieved. Pitt, who was a technical adviser on Reclamation's2012 report,decried ceaselesspipeline proposals. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. 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. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. Kaufman is the general manager of Leavenworth Water, which serves 50,000 people in a town that welcomed Lewis and Clark in 1804 during the duo's westward exploration. Why can't California build a pipeline for water from other states But it's doable. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. 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 grand ideas for guaranteeing water for the arid Westhave beenfloated for decades. Meanwhile, a rookie Democrat running for governor in Californias recall election last year proposed declaring a state of emergency in order to build a similar project. 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 Arizona Legislature wants the federal government to study the feasibility of constructing a pipeline . The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. The federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. Do we have the political will? The driver of the truck was not injured. Sharing Mississippi River water with California would feed America Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. 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. Western Water Woes - Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go? Local hurdles include endangered species protections, wetlands protections, drinking water supply considerations and interstate shipping protections. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. How can we bring water from Mississippi river to west, Arizona - Quora What if our droughts get worse? 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. Water pipeline not feasible - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper 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. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. "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 . Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. All rights reserved. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. Pipeline | Definition, History, Types, Uses, & Facts | Britannica Experts say theres a proverbial snowballs chance in August of most of theseschemes being implemented. Can you solve drought by piping water across the country? - New York Times The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. The . It would turn the Southwest into an oasis, and the Great Basin into productive farmland. It willtake liquid sewage, treat it, and either percolate it back into area groundwater, or, if California law is changed,pipe itto water tanks across the basin. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes. A recent edition of The Desert Sun had twoletters objectingto piping water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River, and on to California. 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. My water, your water. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations, bans large waterexportsoutside of the area. You could do it.". 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. . But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. The state is expected to lose 10% of its water over the next two decades, reports the . Booming Utah metro wants to pipe in water from Lake Powell so it can Water from these and other large rivers pour. 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 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. [1] 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. If you dont have enough of it, go find more. In 1982,efforts were made to revive the plan by a Parsons company engineer, and the Lyndon Larouche movement supported itas recently as 2010. Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. 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. 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. Twitter, Follow us on Drought-Stricken West Looks to Mississippi River to Solve Water Woes 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. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Take that, Lake Mead. Could massive water pipelines solve the West's drought crisis? | Grist Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. 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. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. 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. 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. Experts say those will require sacrifices but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require. Water Pipeline: From Mississippi River To The West? - YouTube 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. 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. One benefit would be flood control for the Eastern USA . Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. We have to conserve water, butnota ridiculous wave parkthat willprobably go bankrupt? 2023 www.desertsun.com. Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". 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. Canadian water for California's drought? - High Country News 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. Another businessman in New Mexico has pushed plans to pump river water 150 miles to the city of Santa Fe, but that water would have to be pumped uphill. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. Letters to the Editor: Really, Californians? Another call for a water Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. To Larsons knowledge, an in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. Million sued, and he says he expects a ruling this year. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? . So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? But interest spans deeper than that. Moving water from the Mississippi River to west would require massive ", Westford of Southern California's Metropolitan Water District agreed. Seeking answers,The Desert Sun consultedwater experts, conservation groups and government officials for their assessments. 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. Similar ideas have been suggested about Great Lakes water. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. 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. 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.

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