American West Drought Proposal

[Davka]

If we can build a pipeline to bring oil from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, this should be a breeze: Build a water pipeline connecting the upper Mississippi with the Colorado.

Of course, there would need to be some tweaks. For one, no biological material could be allowed to flow from one river to the other. For another, a series of artificial reservoirs would been to be built alongside the Colorado (not dams - reservoirs) to manage seasonal and yearly variations in flow. Dredging might be needed to keep the Mississippi navigable.

But the upside would be incredible. Crop yields up the wazoo. Potential floods of the Mississippi could be ameliorated by increasing the transfer volume. Some of the water could even be diverted to farms on the Great Plains, during drought years.

The Mississippi drains close to half of the landmass of the USA. We should be managing this water far more effectively, instead of simply allowing it to pour into the sea.

 

[Duke Leto]

Desal might actually be cheaper in this case.

 

[steve_bnk]

Back in the 90s a plan was floated in Ca to dam a valley in north Idaho ad pipe the water south.

Southern Ca is probably beyond a sustainable population.

It is not just the drought. Agricultural wells in Ca have driven water tables low enough that salt water is encroaching.

The mid West aquifers are drawing down.

Due to reduced snow packs from global warming the Columbia is predicted to lower. it water western Wa ad Or agriculture.

La grew based on water from the Colorado River across deserts. La is a house of cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Aqueduct

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/13/local/la-me-colorado-shortage-20121213

;...Water demand in the Colorado River Basin will greatly outstrip supply in coming decades as a result of drought, climate change and population growth, according to a broad-ranging federal study.

It projects that by 2060, river supplies will fall short of demand by about 3.2 million acre-feet — more than five times the amount of water annually consumed by Los Angeles...'

The basic issue is unrestricted population ad economic growth.

Saui arabia has large scale desalinization made possible by its cheap oil, and a small population alng with low industrial demands.

http://www.sawaco.com/index.html



On a scal efor a region like Ca energy and capacity are issues.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The West does not need more water. It just wants more water.

 

[skepticalbip]

If we can build a pipeline to bring oil from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, this should be a breeze: Build a water pipeline connecting the upper Mississippi with the Colorado.

Of course, there would need to be some tweaks. For one, no biological material could be allowed to flow from one river to the other. For another, a series of artificial reservoirs would been to be built alongside the Colorado (not dams - reservoirs) to manage seasonal and yearly variations in flow. Dredging might be needed to keep the Mississippi navigable.

But the upside would be incredible. Crop yields up the wazoo. Potential floods of the Mississippi could be ameliorated by increasing the transfer volume. Some of the water could even be diverted to farms on the Great Plains, during drought years.

The Mississippi drains close to half of the landmass of the USA. We should be managing this water far more effectively, instead of simply allowing it to pour into the sea.

This sounds very similar to a plan seriously considered back in the 1950s. Only the 1950s plan involved Canada, the US, and Mexico. I guess they figured that Mexico needs water too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance

The North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWPA or NAWAPA, also referred to as NAWAPTA from proposed governing body the North American Water and Power Treaty Authority) is a proposed continental water management scheme conceived in the 1950s by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The planners envisioned diverting water from some rivers in Alaska south through Canada via the Rocky Mountain Trench and other routes to the US and would involve 369 separate construction projects. The water would enter the US in northern Montana. There it would be diverted to the headwaters of rivers such as the Colorado River and the Yellowstone River. Implementation of NAWAPA has not been seriously considered since the 1970s, due to the array of environmental, economic and diplomatic issues raised by the proposal.[1][2] Western historian William deBuys wrote that "NAWAPA died a victim of its own grandiosity."[2]

 

[Uwe]

Looks like a perfect neo-WPA project. Tanks Obama!