Available data for this site Madison County, Illinois. 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. 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. The pipeline would help it tap another 86,000 acre-feet of . But interest spans deeper than that. 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.. Those will require sacrifices, no doubt but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require, experts said. "This sounds outlandish, but we have a massive problem," Paffrath said. The Old River Control Structure, as it was dubbed, is also the linchpin of massive but delicate locks and pulsed flows that feed the largest bottomland hardwood forests and wetlands in the United States, outstripping thebetter-known Okefenokee Swamp that straddles Georgia and Florida. But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Other forms of augmentation, like desalination, are also gaining popularity on the national scene as possible options. They includegawky pink roseate spoonbills, tiny bright yellow warblers, known as swamp candles because of their bright glow in the humid, green woods, and more. Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. He said hes open to one but doesnt think its necessary. In any case, Utah rejected a permit for the project in 2020, saying it would jeopardize the states own water rights. A man from Minnesota wrote to the Palm Springs Desert Sun earlier this month and expressed similar sentiments, warning, If California comes for Midwest water, we have plenty of dynamite.. The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations. Letters to the Editor: Really, Californians? Another call for a water John Neely ofPalm Desert responded: "All of these river cities who refuse to give us their water can stop snowbirding to the desert to use our water. "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 . Even if the government could clear these hurdles, the odds that Midwestern states would just let their water go are slim. 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. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. after the growth in California . 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. States wish they wouldnt. "The engineering is feasible. Million told Grist that hes secured partial funding for the project from multiple banks and the infrastructure company MasTec, but it remains unclear how much he would have to charge to make the project profitable. But grand ideas for guaranteeing water for the arid Westhave beenfloated for decades. Their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed. 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. 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 Nevada Legislature is considering a bill that, if passed, would require restaurants to only provide water upon customer request. As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable, Viadero said. Nonetheless, Siefkes trans-basin pipeline proposal went viral, receiving nearly half a million views. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. 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. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. Too wacky? Moving water from flood to drought - Phys.org Not mentioned was the great grand-daddy of all schemes for re-allocating water, known as the North American Water and Power Authority Plan. Politics are an even bigger obstacle to making multi-state pipelines a reality. Lake Superior Water Headed to the Southwest - Word on the Street 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. Do they thank us for using our water? No. Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants,. "To my mind, the overriding fatal flaw for large import schemes is the time required to become operational. When that happens, it wont be just tourists and recreational boaters who will suffer. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. So come on out for the plastic Marilyn on our dashboard, and stay for the stupendous waste of water, electricity and clean air. Theyre all such hypocrites. 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. Still, he admits the road hasnt always been easy, and that victory is far from guaranteed. Why hasn't the U.S. built an aqueduct or pipeline to divert - Quora Is California still in a drought? Recent storms fill many CA reservoirs The state should do everything possible to push conservation, but thats not going to cure the issue, he told Grist. The water will drain into the headwaters of the Colorado river. "Yes, a Superior-Green River pipeline seems unrealistic, even impossible at first glance," Huttner wrote for Minnesota Public Radio. Physically, some could be achieved. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. 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. Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes. 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. 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. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. No. The mountains are green now but that could be harmful during wildfire season. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it's used for coastal restoration. The two reasons: 1) the process of moving water that far, and that high, wouldn't make economic sense; 2) Great Lakes water is locked down politically. Can the Mississippi River save Arizona? - wmicentral.com Were doing everything we can to minimize impacts, maximize benefits, and this project has a lot of benevolence associated with it. In his vision of the Wests future, urban growth will necessitate more big infrastructure projects like his. She and others worked to persuade reluctant consumers, builders and policymakers to ditchwidely usedsix-gallon flush toilets in favor of perfectly effective two-gallon versions. 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. "I don't think that drought, especially in the era of climate change, is something we can engineer our way out of.". Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. 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. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. Historian Ted Steinberg said itsummed up "the sheer arrogance and imperial ambitions of the modern hydraulic West.". Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis. It was the Bureau of Reclamation. 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. Title: USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation URL: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv? Similar ideas have been suggested about Great Lakes water. All rights reserved. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. Water thieves abound in dry California. 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. 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. All rights reserved. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. Twitter, Follow us on And biologists andenvironmental attorneys saidNew Orleans and the Louisiana coast, along with the interior swamplands, need every drop of muddy Mississippi water. Latitude 3853'06", Longitude 9010'51" NAD27. 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 it does is cause flooding and massive tax expenditures to repair and strengthen dikes, wrote Siefkes.New Orleans has a problem with that much water anyway, so lets divert 250,000 gallons/secondto Lake Powell, which currently has a shortage of 5.5 trillion gallons. Experts we spoke with agreed the feat would be astronomical. Pipelines usually consist of sections of pipe made of . This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. Idaho joins Texas lawsuit against Biden administration over federal The Great Lakes Compact, signed by President George W. Bush in 2008,bans large waterexportsoutside of the areawithout the approval of all eight states bordering them andinput fromOntario and Quebec. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. 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. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real Pipeline debate at center of California carbon capture plans 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. 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. 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. 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. Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorados Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. Million sued, and he says he expects a ruling this year. Don't bother sending notices on conservation; they willbe ignored. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. 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. 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. An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasnt been conducted yet to Larsons knowledge. 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. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. Talk about a job-creating infrastructure project, which would rivalthe tremendous civilengineering feats our country used to be noted for. It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.. But moving water from one drought-impacted area to another is not a solution.. Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. Drainage area 171,500 square miles . Pipeline sizes vary from the 2-inch- (5-centimetre-) diameter lines used in oil-well gathering systems to lines 30 feet (9 metres) across in high-volume water and sewage networks. Haul icebergs from the Arctic to a new southern California port. Others said the costs of an Arizona-Mexico desalination plant would also likely prove infeasible. 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. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Asked about a Mississippi River pipeline or other new infrastructure to rescue the Colorado River, federal and state officials declined to respondor said there was no realistic chance such a major infrastructure project is in the offing. It boggles the mind. 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. 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.

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