Arizona state legislators asked Congress to consider a pipeline that dumps Mississippi water into the Green River, but there are alternate possibilities. "Mexico has said it didn't although there has been a recent change ingovernment.". Nevertheless, Million hasnt given up, and hes currently working to secure permitting for the fourth iteration of the project. Moving water from the Mississippi River to west would require massive Tribes in the Colorado River Basin are fighting for their water. Yet some smaller-scale projects have become reality. 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. 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. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL Can Water Megaprojects Save The US Desert West? (Part 2) On the heels of Arizonas 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. Ive cowboyed enough in my life to know that you just got to stick to the trail, he said. Stop letting excess water flow out to sea. 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. The sharing of water would greatly contribute to California being able to feed the nation. 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. Is sending Mississippi water to West feasible? Experts weigh in Pipeline debate at center of California carbon capture plans The Southern Delivery System in the nearby Arkansas River Basin pipes water from Pueblo County more than 60 miles north to Colorado Springs, Fountain and Security. 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. The idea of a pipeline transecting the continent is not a new idea. 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. 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. Pipe water from the plentiful Great Lakes to deserted towns in the West like Phoenix and Las Vegas. 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. Water thieves abound in dry California. 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. Releasing more water downstream would come at the expense of upstream users . "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 . 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. 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 total projected cost of the plan in 1975 was $100 billion or nearly $570billion in today's dollars,comparable to theInterstate Highway System. Local hurdles include endangered species protections, wetlands protections, drinking water supply considerations and interstate shipping protections. The Arizona Legislature wants the federal government to study the feasibility of constructing a pipeline . It was the Bureau of Reclamation. The Colorado River is drying up. Once again, Arizona hopes to import out-of-state water in face of crisis Drought conditions plagued the region throughout 2022, for instance, prompting concerns over river navigation. Makes me wonder how this got this far, whose interests are being served and who's benefiting. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where its used for coastal restoration. Can the Mississippi River save Arizona? - wmicentral.com To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. These realities havent stopped the Wests would-be water barons from dreaming. We want to have more sustainable infrastructure. Amid a major drought in the Western U.S., a proposed solution comes up repeatedly: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to parched states. 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. 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. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients and invasive species. 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. You could do it.". Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients, and invasive species. 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. Sharing Mississippi River water with California would feed America But pipelines and other big ideaswill always attract interest, hydrology experts said, because they falsely promise an innovative, easy way out. The 2012 study didn't discount either option but. 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. An "interstate water system" could fix the West's water woes Heres why thats wise, Nicholas Goldberg: How I became a tool of Chinas giant anti-American propaganda machine, Opinion: Girls reporting sexual abuse shouldnt have to fear being prosecuted. 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. This latest version would curve up through the Wyoming flatlands and back down to Fort Collins, a distance of around 340 miles. Scientists estimate a football field's worth of Louisiana coast is lost every 60 to 90 minutes. Widespread interest in the plan eventually fizzled. 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. "I started withtoilets, I was the toilet queen of L.A.," said Westford. Runa giant hose from the Columbia River along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to refill Diamond Valley Reservoir. Is pumping Mississippi River water west a solution or pipe dream? 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. Shipping Snow: Could Eastern Water Ease Western Drought? Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream? Mississippi River drought will impact your grocery bill. Theyre all such hypocrites. The idea's been dismissed for as long as it's. Title: USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation URL: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/dv? 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. An earlier version of this story misidentified for which agency Jennifer Pitt was a technical adviser. 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. Simulation of monthly mean and monthly base flow of streamflow using The lawsuit, originally filed in southern Texas' federal courts Jan. 18, was amended to include Idaho on Monday. Arizonas main active management areas are in Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties, leaving much of rural Arizona water use unregulated. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson), Lawmakers targeting hospital facility fees, Whats Working: How a Denver nonprofit is expanding the benefits of work. Since about 1983, Lake Mead has dropped in volume from full capacity at. 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. Pipelines usually consist of sections of pipe made of . 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. 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. Paffrath proposed building a pipeline from the Mississippi River to bring water to drought-stricken California. 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 . Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun, and co-authors USA Today'sClimate Point newsletter. 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. 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.. after the growth in California . Rescue the oceans from the pollution that flood waters pick up and dump into the ocean, creating dead zones. Latitude 3853'06", Longitude 9010'51" NAD27. WATER WILL SOON be flowing from Lake Superior to the parched American Southwest. 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. Others said the costs of an Arizona-Mexico desalination plant would also likely prove infeasible. The . Who is Kevin Paffrath? Democrat recall candidate calls for a pipeline Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and other behind-the-scenes information you wont find anywhere else. 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. The Associated Press Climate team contributed images and page design. Great Lakes water piped to Southwest 'our future,' says NASA scientist But grand ideas for guaranteeing water for the arid Westhave beenfloated for decades. Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. Stories of similar projects often share the same ending, from proposals in Iowa and Minnesota to those between Canada and the United States. Whereas I understand water rights, but globalwarming has introduced new priorities. 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. Known as one of the greenest commercial buildings in the world, since it opened its doors on Earth Day in 2013 the Bullitt Center has been setting a new standard for sustainable design. She points to her earlyworkfor comparison. USGS 05587500 Mississippi River at Alton, IL. 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. Page Contact Information: Missouri Water Data Support Team Page Last Modified: 2023-03-04 08:46:14 EST These canals and pipelines are . 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. The idea of diverting water from the Mississippi to the Colorado River basin is an excellent one, albeit also fantastically expensive. But if areas like the Coachella Valley continue to approve surf waveparks and "beachfront" developments in the desert, "we're screwed," he said bluntly. This would take 254 days to fill.. 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.