water pipeline from mississippi river to california

"I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients and invasive species. Water thieves abound in dry California. Similar ideas have been suggested about Great Lakes water. No. The Western U.S. is experiencing its driest period in more than a thousand years, according to scientists from UCLA and Columbia University. It's 2011 and the technology exists to build a series of water pipelines across the US, to channel flood water to holding tanks in other areas, and to supply water to drought stricken areas. What if our droughts get worse? 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. Each year . Mulroy was the keynote speaker at the convention, held at Mandalay Bay, in Las Vegas, which is one of several that comprises the Chamber of Commerce's . 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. Photos of snowfall around northern Arizona. "This sounds outlandish, but we have a massive problem," Paffrath said. Yes, it would be hugely expensive. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. No. Heres how that affects Indigenous water rights, Salton Sea public health disaster gets a $250 million shot in the arm. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). For as long as this idea has been proposed. The total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. 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. The trooper inside suffered minor injuries. "The engineering is feasible. The hypothetical Mississippi River pipeline, which gained new life last year amid devastating drought conditions, is a case in point. "To my mind, the overriding fatal flaw for large import schemes is the time required to become operational. We are already in a severe drought. This would take 254 days to fill.. Its largestdam would be 1,700 feet tall, more than twice the height of Hoover Dam. Above, the droughts effects can be seen at a marina on June 29. At comment sessions on Colorado's plan, he said, long-distance pipelines wereconstantly suggested by the public. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. Experts say theres a proverbial snowballs chance in August of most of theseschemes being implemented. Grist is powered by WordPress VIP. The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. of Engineers has turned back official requests for more water from the Missouri River to alleviate shortages on the Mississippi. I have dystopian nightmares aboutpipelines marching across the landscape, saidglobal water scarcity expert Jay Famiglietti. . To Larsons knowledge, an in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet. The river's web, if some have their way, could become even larger. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Yes. 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. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. 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. Each year worsens our receipt of rain and snow. Politics are an even bigger obstacle for making multi-state pipelines a reality. Facebook, Follow us on You tellgolf courses how much water they can use, but one of thelargest wave basins in the world is acceptable? 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. Absolutely not," said Meena Westford, executive director of Colorado River resource policy for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. All rights reserved. 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. "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. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. 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. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. 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. 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. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. 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?" He said wastewater reuse by area agencies has already swelled from 0.20% in the 1980sto 12% of regional water supply. The pipeline will end in the Rocky Mountain National park. 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. But if areas like the Coachella Valley continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, "we're screwed," he said bluntly. "My son will never know what a six-gallon toilet looks like," she said. 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. Historian Ted Steinberg said itsummed up "the sheer arrogance and imperial ambitions of the modern hydraulic West.". Their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed. Seeking answers,The Desert Sun consultedwater experts, conservation groups and government officials for their assessments. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. She points to her earlyworkfor comparison. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. Let's be really clear here. 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. "Arizona really, really wants oceanfront," she chuckled. Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. But grand ideas for guaranteeing water for the arid Westhave beenfloated for decades. 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. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. Anyone who thinks we can drain the aquifer and survive is grossly misinformed. 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 lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. 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. Here are some facts to put perspective to several of the. 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 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. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants,. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? 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. 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. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its 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. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. "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 . But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. The Colorado River is drying up. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. "I started withtoilets, I was the toilet queen of L.A.," said Westford. Why are they so hard to catch? Gavin Newsom also touted desalination in adrought resilience plan he announcedlast week, though in brackish inland areas. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. ", But desert defenders pushed back. 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. 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. 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.. Latitude 3853'06", Longitude 9010'51" NAD27. Many sawSiefkes' idea and others like it as sheer theft by a region that needs to fix its own woes. Is this a goo. 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. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. Talk about a job-creating infrastructure project, which would rivalthe tremendous civilengineering feats our country used to be noted for. 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. Nonetheless, Siefkes trans-basin pipeline proposal went viral, receiving nearly half a million views. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. "I think that societally, we want to be more flexible. I find it interesting that households have to watch how much water theyare usingfor washing clothes, wateringlawns, washing cars,etc. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. 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. It was the Bureau of Reclamation. To the editor: While theres no question that the receding waters of Lake Mead are having a detrimental effect on recreation and tourism, the real looming catastrophe is that if the water level of the nations largest reservoir continues to fall and hits a certain level, the hydroeclectic power plant at Hoover Dam will have to shut down. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. "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. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. 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. Design and build by Upstatement. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Its one of dozens of letters the paperhas received proposing or vehemently opposing schemes to fix the crashing Colorado River system, which provides water to nearly 40 million people and farms in seven western states. 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. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Local hurdles include endangered species protections, wetlands protections, drinking water supply considerations and interstate shipping protections. These realities havent stopped the Wests would-be water barons from dreaming. Absolutely. In China, the massiveSouth-to-North Water Diversion Projectis the largest such project ever undertaken. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? The water pipelines from the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa connecting to the headwaters of the Colorado River at the Rocky Mountain National Park. Pipeline sizes vary from the 2-inch- (5-centimetre-) diameter lines used in oil-well gathering systems to lines 30 feet (9 metres) across in high-volume water and sewage networks. 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. 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. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. 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. Imagine a Five foot diameter, half burried pipeline covered with photovoltaic cells on the upper half. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. 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. Dothey pay extra for using our water? 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. 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 . 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. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. [1] Steps are being taken to address water issues in Buckeye. 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. You could do it.". 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. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. The massive river, with tributaries from Montanato Ohio, is a national artery for shipping goodsout to sea. It boggles the mind. John Kaufman, the man who proposed the Missouri River pipeline, wants to see the artificial boundaries expand. All that snow in Arizona is nice now but officials worry that it could create disastrous flooding and wildfire conditions. The bigger obstacles are fiscal, legal, environmentaland most of all, political. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. 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. Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Instagram, Follow us on 2023 www.desertsun.com. People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. 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. The federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. States have [historically] been very successful in getting the federal government to pay for wasteful, unsustainable, large water projects, said Denise Fort, a professor emerita at the University of New Mexico who has studied water infrastructure. 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. What goes into the cat-and-mouse game of forecasting Colorados avalanche risks? 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. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. 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. It would turn the Southwest into an oasis, and the Great Basin into productive farmland. 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. It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. he said. 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. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. 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. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. 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. She said extensive public education, aided by federal mandates and financial incentives, eventually led toa wholesale transition that saves millions of gallons of water. 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. 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. If we had a big pipeline from Lake Sakakawea, we wouldn't just dump it into Lake Powell. Last updated on: February 10, 2023, 10:54h. 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.. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. 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. 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. The state also set aside funds in 2018 to study possible imports from the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers, but to date, the study hasnt been done, he said. The project entails the construction of thousands of miles of pipelines and canals, 427 water treatment facilities, countless pumping facilities, and the displacement of 300,000 residents. The plan would divert water from the Missouri River which normally flows into the Mississippi River and out to the Gulf of Mexico through an enormous pipeline slicing some 600 miles (970 . Noting about 4.5 million gallons per second of Mississippi River flow past the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana, the letter writer explains diverting 250,000 gallons per second would. 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.

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