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That would be very expensive. Desalinization water plants are a last resort. The process is very energetically taxing. On a massive scale would require increase power.
Yep, complete boondoggle, just ask Australia and the waste of money their desalination plant that isn't even used.
California can't lift a pinky finger without facing huge legal challenges over damage to the environment. No power plants, no pipelines etc. are going to get built easily and will have to incorporate massive legal costs into any decision.
There's a lot of facets to the water issue here in the West. It's started more wars than religion. Western states produce a lot of food. CA was the biggest, but if you drive through the cent valley right now you'd swear your driving from Fallon to Elko. It's literally a desert. The schism out here is between the cities and the rural ag. Cutting food production to sustain the urban sprawl. Trouble is, people have to eat too. Vegas and LA have been stealing our water here in N NV for a long time, and are scheming to take more and more.
Personally, I would like to see CA secede, take Vegas with them, and let us get back to work up here. Farming and ranching. We can support our metro centers and still have water to support the rural areas if we get Vegas and CA off our backs. Hopefully now that Reid is gone we can keep them from taking so much. That would be nice. CA would be better served to scale back their urban centers and get back to producing food.
The state is actually (or used to be) a breadbasket for the nation. Hell, the US USED to supply a huge chunk of the whole world's food. That was a big bargaining chip, that we don't have any more. Oh the howling and whining from the bleeding hearts when it was suggested we use our food producing ability thus. "How could we use food as a weapon!!??" That's inhumane!!!. So? When the Saudis did the oil embargo we should have just told them to eat their oil and cut off the food. Back then they were dependent on us for it. But we couldn't do THAT. Oh no, think of the children. Meh.
I was thinking about the succession stuff and how that would likely void all the state water compacts that California bamboozled surrounding states into back many many decades ago.
But anyway, all this move to Canada and succession talk from a couple butt-hurt crackpots is a complete load.
Arizona is allotted 2.8 million acre feet of water annually from the Colorado River. Of that only 1.3MAF is imported to Phoenix or Tucson. Of that 1.3 around 500k is excess and pumped into storage under ground. Phoenix has alternate water supplies in the salt, gila, and verde rivers, Tucson is very close to achieving a safe yield in groundwater withdrawals (meaning groundwater is replenished at the rate it's withdrawn). Arizona will be fine. Progressive and Arizona aren't words you typically associate but Arizona has very progressive water policies.
Arizona has 2 primary alternates being used and considered they are brackish groundwater, which is abundant, and effluent which already waters those golf courses some of you whined about. Arizona has water that article is part of hysteria from people sensationalizing.
California imports 70% of its water from out of state and those areas where they import water from are starting to have their water run dry. For all of the talk about how big California's economy is, California has just the 17th biggest state economy per capita (Nebraska is 18th). Water will be come more expensive and California has a large debt as is.
Some people want to create a water pipeline from the Great Lakes to the southwest, but many in the Great Lakes area oppose it, due to the potential damage it may do to the Great Lakes simply so that people can choose to live in a desert and golf on green golf courses there.
What should be done about water and desert cities?
I have to agree with those that have little sympathy for the poor choice of living in the desert in the first place. I know it started during the housing boom as prices climbed higher and higher and people needed to locate farther away to afford a home but urban sprawl in a bad desert location like that is never a good idea, anymore then locating in a flood zone is. I suggest water conservation methods and maybe rainwater collection as well.
I definitely oppose a pipeline from the great lakes.
One thing to remember about reservoirs and damming is that the warmer water that backs up behind the dams is host to bacteria that increases methane and CO2 production. You know, that stuff that environmental scientists say is going to destroy the planet. Quite a conundrum, lol.
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