(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Lawmakers targeting hospital facility fees, Whats Working: How a Denver nonprofit is expanding the benefits of work. Letters to the Editor: Antigovernment ideology isnt working for snowed-in mountain towns, Letters to the Editor: Ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene? Not mentioned was the great grand-daddy of all schemes for re-allocating water, known as the North American Water and Power Authority Plan. But if areas like the Coachella Valley continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, "we're screwed," he said bluntly. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis. 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. 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. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. Gavin Newsom if he's. 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. Absolutely not," said Meena Westford, executive director of Colorado River resource policy for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. Why are they so hard to catch? 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. 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. 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. Savor that while your lawns are dying. Even at its cheapest, the project would cost about twice as much per acre-foot of water delivered than other solutions like water conservation and reuse. A Mississippi pipeline to Lake Powell would need to cut across four states, he and Johnson said, including hundreds of miles of wetlands in Louisiana and west Texas. Even if the government could clear these hurdles, the odds that Midwestern states would just let their water go are slim. 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 . 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. 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. 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. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. What states in the Southwest have failed to do is curtail growth and agriculture that is, of course, water-driven. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. 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. This would take 254 days to fill.. "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. Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29. The federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. 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. Certainly not the surrounding communities. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. Meanwhile, watershed states in the U.S., and even counties havetaken actionto preventsuch schemes. The total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. 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?" The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. 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. Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. 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. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. There are no easy fixes to a West that has grown and has allocated all of its water theres no silver bullet, she said. Physically, some could be achieved. "To my mind, the overriding fatal flaw for large import schemes is the time required to become operational. 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. 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. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Yes, it would be hugely expensive. The state is expected to lose 10% of its water over the next two decades, reports the . The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. 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. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. If we had a big pipeline from Lake Sakakawea, we wouldn't just dump it into Lake Powell. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. All rights reserved. The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. States wish they wouldnt. Drainage area 171,500 square miles . It was the Bureau of Reclamation. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. "I started withtoilets, I was the toilet queen of L.A.," said Westford. 2023 www.desertsun.com. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. 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. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. Million sued, and he says he expects a ruling this year. 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. "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. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. The project would have to secure dozens of state and federal permits and clear an enormous federal environmental review; moving the water would also require the construction of several hundred megawatts of power generation. You could do it.". The 2012 study didn't discount either option but. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Siphon off a big portion, and youd be swapping oneecological catastrophe for another, said Audubons Johnson. As zany as the ideas may sound, could anywork, and if so, what would be the costs? Follow us on 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? 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. 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. 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. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. 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 massive river, with tributaries from Montanato Ohio, is a national artery for shipping goodsout to sea. People fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta's Elk Slough near Courtland, California, on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. My state, your state. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. "My son will never know what a six-gallon toilet looks like," she said. The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. 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. But interest spans deeper than that. 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? Let's be really clear here. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. But interest spans deeper than that. One proposed solution to the Colorado River Basin's water scarcity crisis has come up again and again: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched West . Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". In 1964, a California engineering company proposed diverting flows from the Yukon and Mackenzie River watersheds, shared by Canada and the U.S., all the way to southern California and into Mexico. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. The elephant in the room, according to Fort, is agriculture, which accounts for more than 80 percent of water withdrawals from the Colorado River. Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. Theyre all such hypocrites. Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. At comment sessions on Colorado's plan, he said, long-distance pipelines wereconstantly suggested by the public. All that snow in Arizona is nice now but officials worry that it could create disastrous flooding and wildfire conditions. 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. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. 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. 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. Is this a goo. Releasing more water downstream would come at the expense of upstream users . Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. If you dont have enough of it, go find more. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. A Canadian entrepreneur's plan published in 1991 diverted water from eastern British Columbia to the Columbia River, then envisioned a 300-mile pipeline from the river through Oregon to a reservoir near Alturas, California. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. Donate today to keep our climate news free. I find it interesting that households have to watch how much water theyare usingfor washing clothes, wateringlawns, washing cars,etc. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. ", Westford of Southern California's Metropolitan Water District agreed. 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. She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com or @janetwilson66 on Twitter. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? A drive up Interstate 5 shows how muchland has been fallowed due tolack of water. 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. 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. 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. 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. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. 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. On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. Butbig water infrastructure projects aren't just of interest to the general public. Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. and planned for completion in 2050, it willdivert 44.8 billion cubic metersof water annually to major cities and agricultural and industrial centers in the parchednorth. 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. Still, its physically possible. 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. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. Martinez, an engineer who oversaw the construction of pipelines in the Sierra Nevada for Southern California Edison, agrees a 1,500-mile pipeline from the Mississippicould physically be built. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". 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. "I think that societally, we want to be more flexible. But the loss of so much water from the. 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. In 1982,efforts were made to revive the plan by a Parsons company engineer, and the Lyndon Larouche movement supported itas recently as 2010. Just pump water a few miles from the Mississippi near Des Moines into the Ogallala aquifer. "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. Instagram, Follow us on Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars. Reader support helps sustain our work. You couldbuild a pipeline from the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers. But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . 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.. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). 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. 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 actual costs to build such a pipeline today would likely be orders of magnitude higher, thanks to inflation and inevitable construction snags. 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. 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. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. 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. At one point, activists who opposed the project erected three large billboards warning about the high cost and potential consequences, such as the possibility that drawing down the Green River could harm the rivers fish populations. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Imagine a Five foot diameter, half burried pipeline covered with photovoltaic cells on the upper half. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations. Take that, Lake Mead. To the editor: With the threat of brownouts and over-stressed power grids, dwindling water resources in California and the call to reduce consumption by 15%, I want to point out we are not all in this together. We are already in a severe drought. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants,. The most obvious problem with this proposal is its mind-boggling cost. He raised the possibility that policymakers will seek to build a 900-mile pipeline from Lake Superior to the Green River watershed in southwest Wyoming. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. Gavin Newsom also touted desalination in adrought resilience plan he announcedlast week, though in brackish inland areas. A retired engineer suggested a rather outlandish-in-scope but logical-in-approach solution to the seemingly growing floods in the central U.S. and the water woes of the West Coast - build a nearly 1,500-mile aqueduct to connect the two. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. Stop letting excess water flow out to sea. 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. Water thieves abound in dry California. 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. 10/4/2021. PROVISIONAL DATA SUBJECT TO REVISION. The idea of drinking even heavily treated liquid wastemay seem unpalatable, but Westfordthinks people will adapt. 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. "I'm an optimist," said Coffey, who said local conservation is key. Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Last updated on: February 10, 2023, 10:54h. Title: USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation URL: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv? Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Seeking answers,The Desert Sun consultedwater experts, conservation groups and government officials for their assessments. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. All rights reserved. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Talk about a job-creating infrastructure project, which would rivalthe tremendous civilengineering feats our country used to be noted for. Experts say those will require sacrifices but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require. The memorial also suggests that the pipeline could be used as stormwater infrastructure to prevent regular flooding along the . We want to have more sustainable infrastructure. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. 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. YouTube. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. Instead, California is focused on better managing the water we have, improving forecasting, and making our groundwater basins more sustainable.. As apractical matter, Famiglietti, a Universityof Saskatchewan hydrology professor who tracks water basins worldwide via NASA satellite data, saidMississippi River states also experiencedry spells, and the watershed, the fourth largest in the world, also ebbs and flows.