water pipeline from mississippi river to california

The massive river, with tributaries from Montanato Ohio, is a national artery for shipping goodsout to sea. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. 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. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. 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. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. 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. 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. Great Lakes water piped to Southwest 'our future,' says NASA scientist Each year . Politics are an even bigger obstacle to making multi-state pipelines a reality. If a portion of the farmers in the region were to change crops or fallow their fields, the freed-up water could sustain growing cities. 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. Improved simulations of streamflow and base flow for selected sites within and adjacent to the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area are important for modeling groundwater flow because surface-water flows have a substantial effect on groundwater levels. Just pump water a few miles from the Mississippi near Des Moines into the Ogallala aquifer. 2023 www.desertsun.com. On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. The other alternatives have political costs, and they have costs that are maybe more likely to be borne locally, including by farmers and other large water users, she said. 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. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. Moreover, we need water in our dams for. Answer (1 of 21): Interbasin transfer is something we try to avoid. These realities havent stopped the Wests would-be water barons from dreaming. For one, theres no longer enough unclaimed water to make most pipeline projects cost-effective. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. Since about 1983, Lake Mead has dropped in volume from full capacity at. The bigger obstacles are fiscal, legal, environmentaland most of all, political. Buying land to secure water rights would also cost a chunk of cash, which leads to an even larger obstacle for such proposals: the legal and political hoops. 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. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. Not mentioned was the great grand-daddy of all schemes for re-allocating water, known as the North American Water and Power Authority Plan. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . An earlier version of this story misidentified for which agency Jennifer Pitt was a technical adviser. What if our droughts get worse? Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. Grist is powered by WordPress VIP. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Drought-Stricken West Looks to Mississippi River to Solve Water Woes 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. 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.. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . A multi-state compact already prohibits any sale of water from the Great Lakes unless all bordering states agree to it, and its almost certain that Mississippi River states would pass laws restricting water diversions, or file lawsuits against western states, if the project went forward. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. 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. But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. Lake Superior Water Headed to the Southwest - Word on the Street 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. You could do it.". In northwestern Iowa, a river has repeatedly been pumped dry by a rural water utility that sells at least a quarter of the water outside the state. Why does California want to build a $16 billion water pipeline? Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. Proposed interstate water pipelines to California - Wikipedia CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Last updated on: February 10, 2023, 10:54h. You couldbuild a pipeline from the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers. 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. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. Diverting the Missouri River to the West: 'Can' Does Not - HuffPost California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. "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. 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. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. An "interstate water system" could fix the West's water woes Can you solve drought by piping water across the country? - New York Times 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. Proponents of these projects argue that they could stabilize western cities for decades to come, connecting populations with unclaimed water rights. "Should we move the water to where the food is grown, or is it maybe time to think about moving the food production to the water?" Meanwhile, watershed states in the U.S., and even counties havetaken actionto preventsuch schemes. Plus, the federal report found the water would be of much lower quality than other western water sources. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. Water use has gone down 40% per capita in recent years, said Coffey. Releasing more water downstream would come at the expense of upstream users . Much of the sediment it was carrying was dropped in the slow moving water of the Delta. 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 . Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. All rights reserved. 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. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Lawmakers targeting hospital facility fees, Whats Working: How a Denver nonprofit is expanding the benefits of work. "We're going to start to see these reservoirs, which nine of them are already filled from the rain water, so then you add on snow melt and we may have some problems with that as far as flooding . Reader support helps sustain our work. But interest spans deeper than that. He said wastewater reuse by area agencies has already swelled from 0.20% in the 1980sto 12% of regional water supply. 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. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . Drainage area 171,500 square miles . The hypothetical Mississippi River pipeline, which gained new life last year amid devastating drought conditions, is a case in point. Arizona Legislators Want to Ship Mississippi River - Planetizen In China, the massiveSouth-to-North Water Diversion Projectis the largest such project ever undertaken. Is this a goo. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. The federal Water Conservation Bureau gave approval Tuesday to piping 440 billion gallons of water per month to Arizona. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. 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. 10/4/2021. To be talking about pipe dreams when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. Simulation of monthly mean and monthly base flow of streamflow using YouTube. YouTube, Follow us on Fueled by Google and other search engines, more than 3.2 millionpeople have read the letters, an unprecedented number for the regional publication's opinion content. Western Water Woes - Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go? 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. This aerial photo of Davenport, Iowa, shows Mississippi River floodwaters in May 2019. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? About 60 percent of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. The Nevada Legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would require restaurants to only provide water upon customer request. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real She said extensive public education, aided by federal mandates and financial incentives, eventually led toa wholesale transition that saves millions of gallons of water. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was . It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. 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. Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. While they didnt outright reject the concepts, the experts laid out multi-billion-dollar price tags, including ever-higher fuel and power costs to pump water up mountains or over other geographic obstacles. 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. (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). Pipelines usually consist of sections of pipe made of . The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. The pipeline would help it tap another 86,000 acre-feet of . But the loss of so much water from the. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. Yes. Leading environmental engineering firm to study alternative water As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. Still, its physically possible. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? And contrary to Siefkes' claims, experts said, the silty river flows provide sediment critical to shore up the rapidly disappearing Louisiana coast andbarrier islands chewed to bits by hurricanes and sea rise. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. The drought is so critical that this recent rainfall is a little like finding a $20 bill when youve lost your job and youre being evicted from your house, said Rhett Larson, a professor of water law at Arizona State University. 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. 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. Others said the costs of an Arizona-Mexico desalination plant would also likely prove infeasible. Many sawSiefkes' idea and others like it as sheer theft by a region that needs to fix its own woes. Grab hydrogen and oxygen from the air and make artificialrain. 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. 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. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. 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. What's the solution to West's water crisis? Desperate ideas explained Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. Twitter, Follow us on Experts say those will require sacrifices but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it was filled 85 years ago. Colorado River crisis: Can water be piped from Mississippi, Missouri? The idea is as old and dusty as the desert Southwest: Pipe abundant Great Lakes water to parched cities out West, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. We've had relatively rich resources for so long,we've never really had to deal withthis before, andwe don't want to change.". On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. "Arizona really, really wants oceanfront," she chuckled. The diverted flow would require massive water tunnels, since a flow of 250,000. 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. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. Here in the scorching Coachella Valley, local governments have approved construction of four surf resorts for the very wealthy. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. Yahoo, Reddit and ceaseless headlines about a 22-year megadrought and killer flash floods, not to mention dead bodies showing up on Lake Meads newly exposed shoreline, have galvanized reader interest this summer. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. 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. 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. One benefit would be flood control for the Eastern USA . In fact, she and others noted, many such ideas have been studied since the 1940s. Do we have the political will? 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. An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet to Larsons knowledge. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. USGS Surface Water for USA: Streamflow Measurements Experts say theres a proverbial snowballs chance in August of most of theseschemes being implemented. That's a big pipe: Retired engineer suggests aqueduct from Mississippi 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. The 800-mile system of pipelines, ditches and reservoirs would cost an estimated $23 billion and could provide 1 million acre-feet of water a year to Colorado. Pipeline from Mississippi - Coyote Gulch "The engineering is feasible. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipe dream? "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". 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. 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. Palm Springs newspaper readers' drought fix: Siphon Mississippi 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. Last time I heard, we are still the United States of America.". 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. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. But the idea hasnever completely died. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis. Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. 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. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. Certainly not the surrounding communities. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars. The . In 1982,efforts were made to revive the plan by a Parsons company engineer, and the Lyndon Larouche movement supported itas recently as 2010. Famiglietti saidit's time for a national water policy, not to figure out where to lay down hundreds of pipesbut to look comprehensively at the intertwining of agriculture and the lion's share ofwater it uses. LAS VEGAS -- Lake Mead has nearly set a new record when its water level measured at 1081.10 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Design and build by Upstatement. Sharing Mississippi River water with California would feed America By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. 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. But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. But water expertssaid it would likely take at least 30 years to clear legal hurdles to such a plan. Nonetheless, Siefkes trans-basin pipeline proposal went viral, receiving nearly half a million views. 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. 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. 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 . Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. You tellgolf courses how much water they can use, but one of thelargest wave basins in the world is acceptable? 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. But interest spans deeper than that. "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. Idaho joins Texas lawsuit against Biden administration over federal 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.

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