Drainage area 171,500 square miles . Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. Butbig water infrastructure projects aren't just of interest to the general public. 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. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prodded by members of Congressfrom western states, studied the massive proposal. Title: USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation URL: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv? Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Their technical report, which hasnt been peer-reviewed, 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. Answer (1 of 21): Interbasin transfer is something we try to avoid. 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. Each year . 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. 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. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. You could do it.". But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. 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 . Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. On Tuesday, the Scottsdale City Council agreed on a proposal to treat water and deliver it to the community for three years. Lake Mead is at its lowest level since it was filled 85 years ago. This would take 254 days to fill.. 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. Do we have the political will? The state is expected to lose 10% of its water over the next two decades, reports the . No. Moreover, we need water in our dams for. About 60 percent of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity. 00:00 00:00 An unknown error. 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. "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". Subscribe today to see what all the buzz is about. For as long as this idea has been proposed. The 2012 study didn't discount either option but. The resulting fresh water would bepiped northto the thirsty state. Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. But interest spans deeper than that. 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. Hydrologic Unit Code 07110009. Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST . 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. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. Gavin Newsom reaffirming his support for the ambitious proposal. 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. No one wants to leave the western states without water, said Melissa Scanlan, a freshwater sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 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. You should worry, Hidden, illegal casinos are booming in L.A., with organized crime reaping big profits, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, Elliott: Kings use their heads over hearts in trading Jonathan Quick, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids. About 33% of vegetables and 66% of fruits and nuts are produced in California for consumption for the nation. Email: newsroom@coloradosun.com People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. The sharing of water would greatly contribute to California being able to feed the nation. The plan would divert water from the Missouri River which normally flows into the Mississippi River and out to the Gulf of Mexico through an enormous pipeline slicing some 600 miles (970 . 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. 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. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was . 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. A pipeline taking water from the Missouri River west makes perfect sense, if you don't care about money, energy, or the environment. 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. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants,. No. Twitter, Follow us on The project would require more than 300 new dams,canals, pipelines, tunnels, and pumping stations, bans large waterexportsoutside of the area. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. 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. 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. So what are the solutions to the arid West's dilemma, as climate change heats up and California's State Water Project, along with Lake Mead and Lake Powell, shrivels due to reduced snowmelt and rainfall? 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. Gavin Newsom if he's. My water, your water. The Mississippi used to flow through a delta full of bayous, shifting sad bars, And islets. Meanwhile, watershed states in the U.S., and even counties havetaken actionto preventsuch schemes. Drop us a note at tips@coloradosun.com. But there are tons of things that can be done but arent ever done.. 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. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. Would itbe expensive? of Engineers has turned back official requests for more water from the Missouri River to alleviate shortages on the Mississippi. 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. "To my mind, the overriding fatal flaw for large import schemes is the time required to become operational. Historian Ted Steinberg said itsummed up "the sheer arrogance and imperial ambitions of the modern hydraulic West.". These realities havent stopped the Wests would-be water barons from dreaming. 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. 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. Conservation alternatives are less palatable than big infrastructure projects, but theyre also more achievable. But Westford and her colleague Brad Coffey, water resources manager,said desalination is needed in the Golden State. Newsom said the state must capture 100 million metric tons of carbon each year by 2045 about a quarter of what the state now emits annually. He raised the possibility that policymakers will seek to build a 900-mile pipeline from Lake Superior to the Green River watershed in southwest Wyoming. Letter writers have asked why a water pipeline is not constructed from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. after the growth in California . 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. The concepts fell into a few large categories: pipe Mississippi or Missouri River water to the eastern side of the Rockies or to Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border, bring icebergs in. Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, prompting concerns over river navigation. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. Physically, some could be achieved. Were not looking for the last dollar out of this project, he told me. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST And several approved diversions draw water from the Great Lakes. 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. Yes, it would be hugely expensive. 2023 www.desertsun.com. Could a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Arizona be a real solution? He frames the pipeline as a complement to water-saving policies. 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. The lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients and invasive species. Grab hydrogen and oxygen from the air and make artificialrain. The snowbirds commonly stay here for at least six months. Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. 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 Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. 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. Anyone who thinks we can drain the aquifer and survive is grossly misinformed. Latitude 3853'06", Longitude 9010'51" NAD27. 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. Environmental writerMarc Reisner said the plan was one of "brutal magnificence" and "unprecedented destructiveness." (Unrecognizable. Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis, July 11). 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. There are at least half a dozen major water pipeline projects under consideration throughout the region, ranging from ambitious to outlandish. 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. Pitt, who was a technical adviser on Reclamation's2012 report,decried ceaselesspipeline proposals. But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. 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 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. Any water diversion from the Mississippi to Arizona must be pumped about 6,000 feet up, over the Rockies. Officials imposed the state's first-ever water restrictions on cities and towns, and California farmers are drilling deeper and . All rights reserved. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts. Letters to the Editor: Antigovernment ideology isnt working for snowed-in mountain towns, Letters to the Editor: Ignore Marjorie Taylor Greene? But, he said, the days of mega-pipelines in the U.S. are likely over due to lack of environmental and political will. "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 . Weve had a few blizzards along the way, and some gun battles, but it is what it is.. 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. Infrastructure is one of the few ways well turn things around to assure that theres some supply.. The largest eastern river, the Mississippi, has about 30 times the average annual flow of the Colorado, and the Columbia has close to 10 times. 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. 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. ", But desert defenders pushed back. 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. 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. 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. The water will drain into the headwaters of the Colorado river. Pipelines usually consist of sections of pipe made of . Engineers said the pipelineidea is technically feasible. The ongoing drought in California has hit its fourth year. The river's web, if some have their way, could become even larger. We have already introduced invasive species all over the continentzebra mussels, quagga mussels, grass carp, spiny water flea, lampreys, ru. Experts say those will require sacrifices but not as many as building a giant pipeline would require. But we need to know a lot more about it than we currently do.. 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. The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. They also concluded environmental and permitting reviews would take decades. No, lets talk about her, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, 15 arrested across L.A. County in crackdown on fraudulent benefit cards, Calmes: Heres what we should do about Marjorie Taylor Greene, Column: Did the DOJ just say Donald Trump can be held accountable for Jan. 6? Instead, California is focused on better managing the water we have, improving forecasting, and making our groundwater basins more sustainable.. Citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi south of the Old River Control Structure dont need all that water. Water thieves abound in dry California. 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. People need to focus on their realistic solutions.. It dawned on Million that Colorado had unclaimed rights to water from the Green, since the river was part of the Colorado River system, and he devised a plan to build a pipeline that would pump water around the Rockies to the city of Fort Collins, where he lives. But, as water scarcity in the West gets more desperate, the hurdles could be overcome one day. 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. 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. 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. 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. At comment sessions on Colorado's plan, he said, long-distance pipelines wereconstantly suggested by the public. Just pump water a few miles from the Mississippi near Des Moines into the Ogallala aquifer. 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. 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. Most recently, in 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation produced a report laying out a potentially grim future for the Colorado River, and had experts evaluate 14 big ideas commonly touted as potential solutions. John Kaufman, the man who proposed the Missouri River pipeline, wants to see the artificial boundaries expand. 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. We can move water, and weve proven our desire to do it. It boggles the mind. 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. Even smaller projects stand to be derailed by similar hiccups. 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 . 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. To be talking about pipe dreams when thats not even feasible for decades, if at all Its a disservice, Scanlan said. Filling Lake Mead with Mississippi River Water No Longer a Pipe Dream. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes. continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. To the editor: I'd like to ask if the reader from Chatsworth calling for the construction of a water pipeline from the Mississippi River to Colorado River reservoirs has ever been to . 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. Do they thank us for using our water? Senior citizens dont go to wave parks. 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.. Flooding along the Mississippi River basin appears to have become more frequent in recent years, as has the [] 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. She said extensive public education, aided by federal mandates and financial incentives, eventually led toa wholesale transition that saves millions of gallons of water. 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. But interest spans deeper than that. Despite the recent defeat of a major plant in Huntington Beach, after the California Coastal Commission said it was too environmentally damaging, "ocean desalination can't be off the table," said Coffey. We need to protect our water supply, at allcosts, and forgo our financialgains. 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. 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. Even if the sticker price werent so prohibitive, there are other obstacles. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. Since about 1983, Lake Mead has dropped in volume from full capacity at. Million sued, and he says he expects a ruling this year. 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. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. More by The Associated Press, Got a story tip? She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com or @janetwilson66 on Twitter. Absolutely. 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. What goes into the cat-and-mouse game of forecasting Colorados avalanche risks? Most notably, the Mississippi River basin doesnt always have enough water to spare. There are no easy fixes to a West that has grown and has allocated all of its water theres no silver bullet, she said. 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. Here's How. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. 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. By Brittney J. Miller, The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Absolutely not," said Meena Westford, executive director of Colorado River resource policy for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. 1999-2023 Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. The . 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 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, an Arizona State University professor of water law. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. Posted on: February 7, 2023, 02:30h. Politics are an even bigger obstacle for making multi-state pipelines a reality. Some plans call for a connection to. The Associated Press Climate team contributed images and page design. 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. Savor that while your lawns are dying. Has no one noticed how much hotter the desert is getting, not to mention the increase in fires in our area. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. I can't even imagine what it would all cost. What if our droughts get worse? Among its provisions, the law granted the states water infrastructure finance authority to investigate the feasibility of potential out-of-state water import agreements. 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. Heres how that affects Indigenous water rights, Salton Sea public health disaster gets a $250 million shot in the arm. 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 . 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 actual costs to build such a pipeline today would likely be orders of magnitude higher, thanks to inflation and inevitable construction snags. Available data for this site Madison County, Illinois. 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. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. I find it interesting that households have to watch how much water theyare usingfor washing clothes, wateringlawns, washing cars,etc. 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. 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.