"wild hair" ideas for more fresh water from our area (tornado, camp)

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Here's one wild, optimistic solution to our Southwest water woes:

In short, forget about ever tapping the Great Lakes for water---they've formed a solid coalition from member states (including Canada) to prevent this type of water diversion. Maybe they'll change their mind if they ever flood Oh dear, I hope not

However, I suspect that further downstream (like the lower Mississippi river and State of Texas) areas would applaud a trans-nation, man-made river or pipeline (ie, massive aqueduct). After all, they are very flood-prone, especially in spring, when snow melt from the upper Mississippi basin is high.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ist/100301326/

When I lived in Michigan you would hear this idea brought up now and then and that is when the paranoia and fear begun. They get really wound up about this. The Great Lakes are all they got up there and they do get fighting mad at the prospect of it being pumped out of those lakes. It really is a paranoid fear of the upper Midwest. The reality of it is that the logistics of moving that much water that far and over the Rocky Mountains seems impossible to do economically. That fact will ensure they keep every frozen ounce of their water.

[DougStark]

danielj, yes it is true that transporting that huge volume of water would be a massive infrastructure project. But, don't necessarily assume that the aqueduct or pipeline has to be routed up and over the tall Colorado Rocky Mtns. There are much lower passes across the continental divide further south in New Mexico, for example.

I'd like to see a budget, cost/benefit analysis of a public works project like this. Some nay-sayers may be surprised what all this extra water could do for the southwest's economy, not to mention help alleviate the chronic flooding on the Mississippi River.

More news from yesterday:

May 09, 2019
Evacuations ordered following levee breaches along Mississippi River north of St. Louis
By Amanda Schmidt, AccuWeather staff writer

Who knows what effects climate change will have on the Mississippi River--not likely positive ones.

[jdhpa]

This sounds like a job for Musk's Boring Company.

[DougStark]

Laugh all you want about diverting Mississippi River water to the arid west, but the country's brightest minds are already considering such a plan:

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-the-West.html

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Laugh all you want about diverting Mississippi River water to the arid west, but the country's brightest minds are already considering such a plan:

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...-the-West.html

Liiiiittle bit of a stretch. No?


I won't laugh at you or the ideas. I will laugh at the idea that anything can come out of DC that will not cost trillions of dollars and fail to deliver what is promised (even after trillions more in cost overruns).

[DougStark]

^^^ Yes, I see your angle, Burning, and all the obstacles such a pipeline or aqueduct would create. Seems almost impossible to get ANYTHING done in this country anymore!!!!! Example: a stinkin' wall which 90% of rational people know we need.

One angle that may (or may not) help build a water diversion plan like this is that the route of the pipeline would primarily go through red states (except NM). One expert in one of the articles says the delivery should end Colorado. But NM and CO are very water watchful and water-limited, so they MAY be all in favor of this kind of project.

Sadly, even if we were able to divert A LOT of Mississippi River water, I suspect we wouldn't be able to pump enough water, fast enough, to forestall flooding in that region (the entire Miss delta region, Texas, etc.)

[JGMotorsport64]

Wouldn’t it be better to start small- as in cheap means to filter all the brackish groundwater we have and ways to use recycled water on landscaping/golf courses/non food crops?

[banger]

Just an idea...

Figuring approx. 300K per home, each Billion Dollars would allow the government to buy up approx. 3,000 homes.

A 10 Billion Dollar project..... 30,000 homes.

30,000 homes NOT flushing toilets... NOT taking showers.... NOT watering gardens etc..

Problem solved..

Probably at a fraction of what the pipeline would actually cost.

[TJJT]

Evidently there is *some* solution.. There are planned developments going up around Flagstaff and even North of Flagstaff.. Nothing but barren land with far from adequate ground-water..

[DougStark]

[quote=banger;55144724]Just an idea...

Figuring approx. 300K per home, each Billion Dollars would allow the government to buy up approx. 3,000 homes.

A 10 Billion Dollar project..... 30,000 homes.

30,000 homes NOT flushing toilets... NOT taking showers.... NOT watering gardens etc..

Problem solved..

Probably at a fraction of what the pipeline would actually cost.[/QUOT

So how does your idea:
a. Help alleviate flooding and too much water from the Mississippi river and other areas prone to flooding?
b. Help the residents, economy, ecology, agriculture, wildlife of Arizona? (not to mention helping all the other regions/cities along the pipeline's path that would also be helped.

My wild, crazy idea would help do all of those points.

JGMotor--you're on to something there (pumping and treating currently unusable groundwater.) I think that strategy is in the works. But, pump too much GW and you get land subsidence