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. Haul icebergs from the Arctic to a new southern California port. There are no easy fixes to a West that has grown and has allocated all of its water theres no silver bullet, she said. The elephant in the room, according to Fort, is agriculture, which accounts for more than 80 percent of water withdrawals from the Colorado River. Yes, it would be hugely expensive. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. 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. 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. This would take 254 days to fill.. About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. 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 . All rights reserved. My water, your water. Twitter, Follow us on We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. The distance between Albuquerque, for example, and the Mississippi River perhaps the closest hypothetical starting point for such a pipeline is about 1,000 miles, crossing at least three. 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. Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. Arizona, for instance, has invested millions of dollars in wastewater recycling while other communities have paid to fix leaky pipes, making their water delivery systems more efficient. 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. 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. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. Follow us on This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. But the loss of so much water from the. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. She points to her earlyworkfor comparison. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. But interest spans deeper than that. and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . 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. Do they thank us for using our water? 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. 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 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. The memorial also suggests that the pipeline could be used as stormwater infrastructure to prevent regular flooding along the . All rights reserved. ", But desert defenders pushed back. Power from its hydroelectric dams would boost U.S. electricity supplies. 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. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. Grab hydrogen and oxygen from the air and make artificialrain. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. The . People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Talk about a job-creating infrastructure project, which would rivalthe tremendous civilengineering feats our country used to be noted for. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. pipeline, line of pipe equipped with pumps and valves and other control devices for moving liquids, gases, and slurries (fine particles suspended in liquid). Proponents of these projects argue that they could stabilize western cities for decades to come, connecting populations with unclaimed water rights. 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. But interest spans deeper than that. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . Why not begin a grand national infrastructure project of building a water pipeline from those flooded states to the Southwest? The trooper inside suffered minor injuries. after the growth in California . But Denver officials have expressed skepticism,because Missouri or Mississippi water isof inferior quality to pure mountain water. Each state along the Colorado River basin had the rights to a certain quantity of river water, divided among major users like farms and cities, and the projects were designed to help the states realize those abstract rights. 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. 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.. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. Their detractors counter that, in an era of permanent aridification driven by climate change, the only sustainable solution is not to bring in more water, but to consume less of it. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. 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. Latitude 3853'06", Longitude 9010'51" NAD27. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. "Arizona really, really wants oceanfront," she chuckled. 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. In fact, she and others noted, many such ideas have been studied since the 1940s. 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. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was . Thats not to mention the housing development again, for the very wealthy with its own lagoon. She said extensive public education, aided by federal mandates and financial incentives, eventually led toa wholesale transition that saves millions of gallons of water. Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. 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. A drive up Interstate 5 shows how muchland has been fallowed due tolack of water. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. 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. 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. Millions in the Southwest will literally be left in the dark and blistering heat when theres no longer enough water behind the dam to power the giant electricity-producing turbines. Water from these and other large rivers pour. Politics are an even bigger obstacle to making multi-state pipelines a reality. The agency is moving forward with smallerprojects across the state to reduce seismic and hydrologic risks, like eliminating leaks or seepage, including at four existing dams and related spillways in Riverside and Los Angeles counties. California uses 34 million acre-feet of water per year for agriculture. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. This summer, as seven states and Mexico push to meet a Tuesday deadline to agree on plans to shore up the Colorado River and itsshrivelingreservoirs, retired engineer Don Siefkes of San Leandro, California,wrote a letter to The Desert Sun with what he said was asolution to the West's water woes: build an aqueduct from the Old River Control Structure to Lake Powell, 1,489 miles west, to refill the Colorado River system with Mississippi River water. 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. We've had relatively rich resources for so long,we've never really had to deal withthis before, andwe don't want to change.". There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. 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. Water use has gone down 40% per capita in recent years, said Coffey. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Here's How. 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. I have dystopian nightmares aboutpipelines marching across the landscape, saidglobal water scarcity expert Jay Famiglietti. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. 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. 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. Releasing more water downstream would come at the expense of upstream users . 2023 www.desertsun.com. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. Each year worsens our receipt of rain and snow. Why are they so hard to catch? 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. 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. But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. Who is going to come to the desert and use it? California wants to build a $16 billion pipeline to draw water out of the Sacramento River Delta and down to the southern part of the state, but critics say the project would deprive Delta farmers of water and destroy local ecosystems. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. . But water expertssaid it would likely take at least 30 years to clear legal hurdles to such a plan. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. Certainly not the surrounding communities. 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. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. 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? 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. Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. Instagram, Follow us on 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. 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. and planned for completion in 2050, it willdivert 44.8 billion cubic metersof water annually to major cities and agricultural and industrial centers in the parchednorth. 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. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. John Kaufman, the man who proposed the Missouri River pipeline, wants to see the artificial boundaries expand. 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. 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 don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. Many sawSiefkes' idea and others like it as sheer theft by a region that needs to fix its own woes. States wish they wouldnt. California Gov. Flooding along the Mississippi River basin appears to have become more frequent in recent years, as has the [] 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. "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 . 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 . and Renstrom says that unless Utah builds a long-promised pipeline to pump water 140 miles from Lake . You could do it.". In the meantime, researchers encourage more feasible and sustainable options, including better water conservation, water recycling, and less agricultural reliance. 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. Los Angeles-area water districts have implemented much of what Famiglietti mentioned. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. The Nevada Legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would require restaurants to only provide water upon customer request. In 1982,efforts were made to revive the plan by a Parsons company engineer, and the Lyndon Larouche movement supported itas recently as 2010. Local hurdles include endangered species protections, wetlands protections, drinking water supply considerations and interstate shipping protections. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. It's the lowest level since the lake was filled in the. Physically, some could be achieved. 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. Today, any water pipeline could cost from $10 billion to $20 billion with another $30 billion in improvements just to get the water to thirsty people and farms. 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. 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. 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. A pipeline to the Mississippi River Perhaps the biggest achievement Paffrath said he would accomplish if elected governor would be to solve California's water crisis by building a. "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". Siphon off a big portion, and youd be swapping oneecological catastrophe for another, said Audubons Johnson. he said. Title: USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation URL: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv? Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. 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. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. 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. To be talking about pipe dreams when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. 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. That project, which also faces heavy headwinds from environmentalists, wouldcost an estimated $12 billion. after the growth in California . 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. Is this a goo. One benefit would be flood control for the Eastern USA . 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. "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?" 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. 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. It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. 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. 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. But the idea hasnever completely died. Parsons said theplanwould replenishthe upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers during dry spells, increase hydropower along the Columbia Riverand stabilize the Great Lakes. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? 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. In it, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Idaho Attorney General Ral Labrador contend that a new interpretation of a Clean Water Act rule is too vague, oversteps the bounds of federal authority and puts the liberties of states and private property owners at risk. Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. 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. The Arizona Legislature wants the federal government to study the feasibility of constructing a pipeline . Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. 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. Moreover, we need water in our dams for. One proposed solution to the Colorado River Basin's water scarcity crisis has come up again and again: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to the parched West . 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. For as long as this idea has been proposed. 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. 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.
