water pipeline from mississippi river to californiawater pipeline from mississippi river to california

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. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. 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. The lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. 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. 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. 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. 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. Experts we spoke with agreed the feat would be astronomical. ", But desert defenders pushed back. Why are they so hard to catch? The actual costs to build such a pipeline today would likely be orders of magnitude higher, thanks to inflation and inevitable construction snags. Politics are an even bigger obstacle for making multi-state pipelines a reality. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations. Still, its physically possible. According to DPS, the driver of the semi-truck lost control of the truck on the icy I-40 freeway near Williams, striking a DPS patrol car parked by the side of the highway. 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. 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. The delta was tricky for barge traffic and shipping to navigate. Coffey said the project isn't really a pipeline, but more "a bypass for an aging 60-year-old"system. One benefit would be flood control for the Eastern USA . 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. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. Famiglietti also said while oil companies are willing to spend millions because their product yields high profits per gallon, that's not the case with water, typically considered a public resource. 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. Donate today tohelp keep Grists site and newsletters free. China, unlike the US, is unencumbered by NEPA, water rights and democratic processes in general. A recent edition of The Desert Sun had twoletters objectingto piping water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River, and on to California. 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. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. 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. The idea of drinking even heavily treated liquid wastemay seem unpalatable, but Westfordthinks people will adapt. Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. 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. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. 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. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. Much of the sediment it was carrying was dropped in the slow moving water of the Delta. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. 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. No. Twitter, Follow us on No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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 to pump even more water out of the already-depleted Lake Powell. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but require decades of construction and billions of dollars. "I think that societally, we want to be more flexible. Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. 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 . USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. The state is expected to lose 10% of its water over the next two decades, reports the . Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it was filled 85 years ago. Then take it out of the southern tip of the aquifer in Southern Colorado. Grab hydrogen and oxygen from the air and make artificialrain. Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. 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. Steps are being taken to address water issues in Buckeye. But the idea hasnever completely died. The pipeline would provide the Colorado River basin with 600,000 acre-feet of water annually, which could serve roughly a million single-family homes. In their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed, they calculated that a pipe for moving this scale of water would need to be 88 feet in diameter around twice the length of a semi trailer or a 100-foot-wide channel thats 61 feet deep. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. 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. In the 20 years since he first had the idea, Million has suffered a string of regulatory and legal defeats at the hands of state and federal agencies, becoming a kind of bogeyman for conservationists in the process. Heres how that affects Indigenous water rights, Salton Sea public health disaster gets a $250 million shot in the arm. 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. Donate today to keep our climate news free. 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. We've had relatively rich resources for so long,we've never really had to deal withthis before, andwe don't want to change.". 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. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? 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. 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. I have dystopian nightmares aboutpipelines marching across the landscape, saidglobal water scarcity expert Jay Famiglietti. Design and build by Upstatement. 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. By the way, none of this includes the incredible carbon footprints about to be stomped on the environment. From winter lettuce in grocery stores to the golf courses of the Sun Belt, the Wests explosive growth over the past century rests on aqueducts, canals and drainage systems. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. 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. 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. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations, bans large waterexportsoutside of the area. Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. PROVISIONAL DATA SUBJECT TO REVISION. Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. The elephant in the room, according to Fort, is agriculture, which accounts for more than 80 percent of water withdrawals from the Colorado River. Email: [email protected] "People are spoiled in the United States. 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. 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. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. But it's doable. But interest spans deeper than that. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. 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. Pipelines usually consist of sections of pipe made of . 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?" 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. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. 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. Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. For one, theres no longer enough unclaimed water to make most pipeline projects cost-effective. 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. YouTube, Follow us on Million himself, though, is confident that his pipeline will get built, and that it will ensure Fort Collins future. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. Since about 1983, Lake Mead has dropped in volume from full capacity at. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Vessels ran aground and had to navigate very carefully. 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 federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. 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. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesn't always have enough water to spare. Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". The California water wars of the early twentieth century are summed up in a famous line from the 1974 film Chinatown: Either you bring the water to L.A., or you bring L.A. to the water. Nearly a hundred years have elapsed since the events the film dramatizes, but much of the West still approaches water the same way. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? Its much easier to [propose] a shining pipeline from the Mississippi River that will never be built than it is to grapple with this really unpleasant truth.. 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. 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. From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka): Hausler's idea is to bring water from the Mississippi just below its confluence with the Ohio River across Missouri and Kansas into Colorado. 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. But grand ideas for guaranteeing water for the arid Westhave beenfloated for decades. Photos of snowfall around northern Arizona. "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. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Would itbe expensive? 2023 www.desertsun.com. 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.. A federal report from a decade ago pegged an optimistic cost estimate for a similar pipeline at $14 billion and said the project would take 30 years to build; a Colorado rancher who championed the idea around the same time, meanwhile, estimated its costs at $23 billion. Each year worsens our receipt of rain and snow. 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. Drop us a note at [email protected]. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . Why not begin a grand national infrastructure project of building a water pipeline from those flooded states to the Southwest? 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. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis. Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. An earlier version of this story misidentified for which agency Jennifer Pitt was a technical adviser. Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. 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. of Engineers has turned back official requests for more water from the Missouri River to alleviate shortages on the Mississippi. Meanwhile, watershed states in the U.S., and even counties havetaken actionto preventsuch schemes. 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. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). The driver of the truck was not injured. 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. This is the country that built the Hoover Dam, and where Los Angeles suburbs were created by taking water from Owens Lake. Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. We need to protect our water supply, at allcosts, and forgo our financialgains. 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.. after the growth in California . I can't even imagine what it would all cost. The diverted flow would require massive water tunnels, since a flow of 250,000. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. 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. A drive up Interstate 5 shows how muchland has been fallowed due tolack of water. Scientists estimate a football field's worth of Louisiana coast is lost every 60 to 90 minutes. Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. Heproposed usingnuclear explosionsto excavate the system's trenches and underground water storage reservoirs. 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. 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 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. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. 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. YouTube star and Democratic political novice Kevin Paffrath proposed the Mississippi River pipeline last week during a debate among candidates seeking to replace Gov. The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. Officials imposed the state's first-ever water restrictions on cities and towns, and California farmers are drilling deeper and . 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. Every day, we hear about water conservation, restrictions. Gavin Newsom if he's. To Larsons knowledge, an in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet. As the largest single contractor of the SWP and a major supporter of Southern California water conservation and recycling programs, Metropolitan seeks feasible alternatives to convey Colorado River Aqueduct supplies or Diamond Valley Lake storage from the eastern portion of its service area or purified water from Pure Water Southern California . But in the face of continuing, ever-worsening drought and ongoing growth of the cities of the desert Southwest, is there a better idea out there? Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. 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. 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. But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. . The ongoing drought in California has hit its fourth year. Each year . While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real solution? Experts say those will require sacrifices but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require. Savor that while your lawns are dying. When that happens, it wont be just tourists and recreational boaters who will suffer. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. 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. For as long as this idea has been proposed. 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.

Natural Water Slides San Isabel Directions, Articles W