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

By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. States wish they wouldnt. A Kansas groundwater management agency, for instance, received a permit last year to truck 6,000 gallons of Missouri River water into Kansas and Colorado in hopes of recharging an aquifer. 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. The pipeline will end in the Rocky Mountain National park. He frames the pipeline as a complement to water-saving policies. 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. Formal large-scale water importation proposals have existed in the United States since at least the 1960s, when an American company devised the North American Water and Power Alliance to redistribute Alaskan water across the continent using reservoirs and canals. The memorial also suggests that the pipeline could be used as stormwater infrastructure to prevent regular flooding along the . The most obvious problem with this proposal is its mind-boggling cost. Power from its hydroelectric dams would boost U.S. electricity supplies. continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The river's web, if some have their way, could become even larger. 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. It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. 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. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. pipeline, line of pipe equipped with pumps and valves and other control devices for moving liquids, gases, and slurries (fine particles suspended in liquid). YouTube. 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. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. A pipeline taking water from the Missouri River west makes perfect sense, if you don't care about money, energy, or the environment. If officials approve this, the backlash willresult in everyone using as much water as wecare to. Las Vegas' grand proposal is to take water from the mighty Mississippi in a series of smaller pipeline-like exchanges among states just west of the Mississippi to refill the overused. 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. Still, its physically possible. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. But the loss of so much water from the. ", Westford of Southern California's Metropolitan Water District agreed. Some plans call for a connection to. "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?" But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. 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. Savor that while your lawns are dying. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. Their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. . But Denver officials have expressed skepticism,because Missouri or Mississippi water isof inferior quality to pure mountain water. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. I can't even imagine what it would all cost. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. If you dont have enough of it, go find more. It is time to think outside the box of rain. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. 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. Moreover, we need water in our dams for. after the growth in California . "I started withtoilets, I was the toilet queen of L.A.," said Westford. Absolutely not," said Meena Westford, executive director of Colorado River resource policy for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. 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. One benefit would be flood control for the Eastern USA . 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. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. The conceptsfell into a few large categories: pipe Mississippi or Missouri River water to the eastern sideof the Rockies or to Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, bring icebergs in bags, on container ships or via trucks to Southern California, pump water from the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest to California via a subterranean pipeline on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, or replenish the headwaters of the Green River, the main stem of the Colorado River, with water from tributaries. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. Much of the sediment it was carrying was dropped in the slow moving water of the Delta. 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. Its possible that the situation gets so dire that there is an amount of money out there that could overcome all of these obstacles, Larson said. Officials imposed the state's first-ever water restrictions on cities and towns, and California farmers are drilling deeper and . The Associated Press Climate team contributed images and page design. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? We've had relatively rich resources for so long,we've never really had to deal withthis before, andwe don't want to change.". 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. This aerial photo of Davenport, Iowa, shows Mississippi River floodwaters in May 2019. 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. 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. Let's be really clear here. 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. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. 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. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes. And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. Well, kind of, Letters to the Editor: Shasta County dumps Dominion voting machines at its own peril, Editorial: Bay Area making climate change history by phasing out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters, Column: Mike Lindell is helping a California county dump voting machines. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Heres how that affects Indigenous water rights, Salton Sea public health disaster gets a $250 million shot in the arm. At comment sessions on Colorado's plan, he said, long-distance pipelines wereconstantly suggested by the public. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . [1] 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. But interest spans deeper than that. 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. "We do not expect to see (carbon capture and storage) happen at a large scale unless we are able to address that pipeline issue," said Rajinder Sahota, deputy executive officer for climate change . Absolutely. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. 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. 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. This would take 254 days to fill.. 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. To be talking about pipe dreams, when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. 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. All rights reserved. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Dothey pay extra for using our water? But it's doable. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. 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. 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. Any water diversion from the Mississippi to Arizona must be pumped about 6,000 feet up, over the Rockies. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. 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. 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. Even if the government could clear these hurdles, the odds that Midwestern states would just let their water go are slim. This is the country that built the Hoover Dam, and where Los Angeles suburbs were created by taking water from Owens Lake. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. Opinion: How has American healthcare gone so wrong? 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 mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. 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. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. 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. Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. All that snow in Arizona is nice now but officials worry that it could create disastrous flooding and wildfire conditions. 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. Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. 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. To Larsons knowledge, an in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet. Follow us on Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This story is part of the Grist seriesParched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems.