[fmax]

Thinking “out of the box”.

Building a very large Water Treatment Facility - an engineering wonder, if you will - in the center of Lake St. Clair would be to Michigan’s Advantage.

Using 48” diameter pipes originating from LSC or Lake Huron, Michigan could feed the product to the Eastern half of the U.S.A. From Augusta to Tallahassee to Jackson to Springfield, Michigan can supplement them all.

(Perhaps an engineer can run the calculations - impacts on the Niagara hydroelectric power plant.)

Michigan sends water. Michigan receives natural gas or oranges, for example. Cheap NG would allow lower manufacturing costs to plummet; who wouldn’t love oranges - 10 for a nickel? Michigan would become very, very wealthy.

Thoughts?

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by fmax

thinking “out of the box”.

Building a very large water treatment facility - an engineering wonder, if you will - in the center of lake st. Clair would be to michigan’s advantage.

Using 48” diameter pipes originating from lsc or lake huron, michigan could feed the product to the eastern half of the u.s.a. From augusta to tallahassee to jackson to springfield, michigan can supplement them all.

(perhaps an engineer can run the calculations - impacts on the niagara hydroelectric power plant.)

michigan sends water. Michigan receives natural gas or oranges, for example. Cheap ng would allow lower manufacturing costs to plummet; who wouldn’t love oranges - 10 for a nickel? Michigan would become very, very wealthy.

Thoughts?

no!!!!

[Bydand]

They want the water, they can move to Michigan.

[michmoldman]

I agree with the others. No freakin way.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by fmax

Thinking “out of the box”.

Building a very large Water Treatment Facility - an engineering wonder, if you will - in the center of Lake St. Clair would be to Michigan’s Advantage.

Using 48” diameter pipes originating from LSC or Lake Huron, Michigan could feed the product to the Eastern half of the U.S.A. From Augusta to Tallahassee to Jackson to Springfield, Michigan can supplement them all.

(Perhaps an engineer can run the calculations - impacts on the Niagara hydroelectric power plant.)

Michigan sends water. Michigan receives natural gas or oranges, for example. Cheap NG would allow lower manufacturing costs to plummet; who wouldn’t love oranges - 10 for a nickel? Michigan would become very, very wealthy.

Thoughts?

I understand your where your coming from in a economic sense. Michigan's economy is on the rocks and needs to fine new avenues to jump start it economy. In fact when I was first making suggestion about how Michigan could turn itself around, I had the idea of a state run water bottling company and that great lakes residents could receive some of the economic benefit for water sold.
But now as you can see with the previous replies that type of idea will not fly with most the of the population of the great lakes states. If you really want to get into the why there is such opposition to this "water diversion" idea. please read:

1.The Great lakes water wars
Great Lakes Water Wars

2. One the brink (the great lakes in the 21st century)
Dave Dempsey

I believe these books give you a background of what has happened over the last 100 years or so. And help explain why there is some much push back to diverting what from the Great lakes basin.

Also you can watch "Flow" (for the love of water.) Granted most of the movie is not about Michigan or the great lakes. But toward the end they talk about some Michigan residents fighting against Nestle for the rights to "divert" water out of the great lakes region.

W.O.L.F.avi

To be fair though here is nestle response to the film.

http://www.nestle-watersna.com/pdf/NWNA_Statment_FLOW_release.pdf (broken link)

Nestle Waters North America Video response to the move Flow

Also right now the great lakes over all are at historical lows right now. Now whether this is because of environmental change and water diversion or it because of natural cycle of the ebb and flow of the lakes are up for debate at this point. But there seems to be some very concerned citizens out there at this point. So trying to get them to go along with a "diversion" I believe will be hard to do.

http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatl...elsEnglish.pdf


Lastly just as an aside here's a nice (but older) film that show just how beautiful lake superior is. It name is "Water Walker." Though a great film about how awe inspiring Lake superior is I have to admit the music and the dialog is stale. Also sorry it in parts. I couldn't find it any other way.

Bill Mason Waterwalker - A Canoeing Odyssey - Google Video

[magellan]

I love the thought. I think the whole "lake levels" thing is a bunch of hoo-haa, and the Great Lakes are overhyped.

We can become like the drought-stricken Southeast. I mean, isn't that what we're striving for?





lake lanier drought - Google Image Search

I like this one. The last ditch effort to get the hull into some kind of water:



So yes, in conclusion, we should reap the short-term rewards for perpetuating unsustainable growth patterns in the Southeastern United States, while at the same time destroying our own fresh water supply and playground.

[michmoldman]

I was talking to some friends a while ago about this subject, and we also came up with the idea (maybe far-fetched) but if we did start catering to everyone who wanted our water, would we then have to worry about some kind of terrorism to our lakes? Would some crazy group then try to poison our lakes knowing that it is being diverted to so many people?

Those pictures are pretty scary Maggelan. That would suck sooo bad!

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by Bydand

They want the water, they can move to Michigan.

[michiganbob]

I have thought for a while that after oil, water would be the next natural resource states (and maybe countries) would fight over. The problem is that we seem to be coming up with some alternatives to oil: what's the alternative when you run out of water?

Now, if we start seeing higher than average rain and snowfall and the lakes start rising again, I might consider letting some go, but seems like we just started getting back to "normal" levels after years of being low. Why would we let other states suck us dry? Then what do we have to offer?

Water is our advantage: when it starts running out elsewhere (Vegas, Phoenix, Californian, the Southeast) the Midwest is going to start looking pretty good as a place to live again. You say we have no jops here? What jobs existed in some of those places before people started moving in large numbers there? If people get thirsty and start moving here by the tens of thousands there will be jobs . . . even if it's just keeping all of the "newbies" penned up somewhere.

[suydam]

No offense, but this is the worst idea ever. Literally.
Water is a finite resource. We should not be shipping it all over creation for a short-term gain. Then when Magellan's pictures became the reality, we'd be left with nothing.

Thanks but no thanks. I'm 100% in favor of using the water here to help drive businesses that need it (for cooling, or agriculture or quality-of-life) but shipping it out to other states is a terrible idea.

People are welcome move here and start businesses, put down roots, and use the water.
Shipping it away would be our death knell.