Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year, and while the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory.
Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars. Politics are an even bigger obstacle for making multi-state pipelines a reality. Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states to dig themselves out of droughts.
On the heels of Arizona’s 2021 push for a pipeline feasibility study, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation this past July that invested $1.2 billion to fund projects that conserve water and bring more into the state. Among its provisions, the law granted the state’s water infrastructure finance authority to “investigate the feasibility” of potential out-of-state water import agreements.
In their technical report, which hasn’t been peer-reviewed, they calculated that a pipe for moving this scale of water would need to be 88 feet in diameter — around twice the length of a semi trailer — or a 100-foot-wide channel that’s 61 feet deep.“As an engineer, I can guarantee you that it is doable,” Viadero said. “But there are tons of things that can be done but aren’t ever done.”
Trans-national pipelines would also impact ecological resources. Lower Mississippi River flow means less sediment carried down to Louisiana, where it’s used for coastal restoration. Diverting that water also means spreading problems, like pollutants, excessive nutrients and invasive species. “It’s possible that the situation gets so dire that there is an amount of money out there that could overcome all of these obstacles,” Larson said. “It might be in the trillions, but it probably does exist.”
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