The Arizona state legislature recently passed a measure urging Congress to look at pumping flood water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River to boost its flow.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too.
Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper. But interest spans deeper than that. 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 flow.
A Kansas groundwater management agency, for instance, received a permit last year to truck 6,000 gallons of Missouri River water into Kansas and Colorado in hopes of recharging an aquifer. In northwestern Iowa, a river has repeatedly been pumped dry by a rural water utility that sells at least a quarter of the water outside the state. And there are several approved diversions that draw water from the Great Lakes.
Under the analyzed scenario, water would be conveyed to Colorado’s Front Range and areas of New Mexico to help fulfill water needs. It would cost at least $1,700 per acre-feet of water, potentially yield 600,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2060 and take 30 years to construct. Buying land to secure water rights would cost a chunk of cash, too, which leads to an even larger obstacle for such proposals: the legal and political hoops.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipedream?CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200 percent their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too.
Read more »
Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipedream?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.
Read more »
The river's end: Amid Colorado water cuts, Mexico seeks to restore its lost oasisThe river’s crisis also presents a pivotal moment for farms and cities to adapt. “I’m hoping that we can really understand that crisis is not something that we ought to waste. We need to use it to thrust ourselves into a different model.”
Read more »
Chrissy Teigen Shares Candid Photos of Her Pumping Milk While FaceTiming John Legend'Life lately.' 🍼
Read more »
In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporationExposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals. For decades, key stewards of the river have ignored the massive water loss, instead allocating Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico their share of the river without subtracting what's evaporated. The West's multi-decade drought has sent water levels in key reservoirs along the river to unprecedented lows.
Read more »
Engaged Georgia Football, Volleyball Players Announce Transfer to Mississippi StateIt's the stuff great love stories are made of: Two college athletes meet, fall in love, get engaged, and — in a thoroughly 2023 twist of fate — enter the transfer portal together
Read more »