Water crisis in West has prompted desperate ideas: Drain the Great Lakes, desalinate ocean water

[Trump v. Wong Kim Ark]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

[Raccoon]

No Midwest water for the west. First thing that needs to happen is the water rights need to be redone. They were put in place at all time water highs, not practical now.

There is no logical reason why we should pump great lakes water to the west. My solution is the simplest and makes the most the sense.

I will say though that if Utah was a Democratic state, the great salt lake would be just fine. I place the blame on Mormons and the GOP.

[Nutmeg]

I never thought of this but this is an interesting proposal. However I’m not sure what type of economic toll it could have on the Midwest.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/04/whats-solution-wests-water-crisis-desperate-ideas-explained/11274700002/

A pipeline from the Great Lakes will never, ever, ever, ever happen. Ever. The Southwest needs to conserve, conserve, conserve, and then conserve some more. They are still wasting tons of it. To be brutally honest, people who are still moving to Phoenix (or SoCal) are kidding themselves that that is sustainable long-term. Do yourself a favor and move to the Midwest before you are forced to move to the midwest b/c there's nothing coming out of your faucet and your house is now worth nothing.

Absolutely.

The article states, "The U.S. has plenty of drinking water — it's simply in the wrong place." I'd argue the opposite, that people are in the wrong place. It's absurd to place most of our largest population centers in arid places and then find ways to steal water from climatically pleasant regions thousands of miles away.

[Raccoon]

I never thought of this but this is an interesting proposal. However I’m not sure what type of economic toll it could have on the Midwest.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/04/whats-solution-wests-water-crisis-desperate-ideas-explained/11274700002/

A pipeline from the Great Lakes will never, ever, ever, ever happen. Ever. The Southwest needs to conserve, conserve, conserve, and then conserve some more. They are still wasting tons of it. To be brutally honest, people who are still moving to Phoenix (or SoCal) are kidding themselves that that is sustainable long-term. Do yourself a favor and move to the Midwest before you are forced to move to the midwest b/c there's nothing coming out of your faucet and your house is now worth nothing.

Absolutely.

The article states, "The U.S. has plenty of drinking water — it's simply in the wrong place." I'd argue the opposite, that people are in the wrong place. It's absurd to place most of our largest population centers in arid places and then find ways to steal water from climatically pleasant regions thousands of miles away.

I know everything there is to know about western water supplies with the exception of complex engineering.

But you do not not have to be scientist to realize that 1) the Western United States actually has generous water supplies for an arid region, but resources are mismanaged and 2) we are not going to destroy large metropolis areas that are there now. We have solutions that are relatively simple that can ensure that Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are stiill around in one hundred years.

[2,284,967]

Tell the California techbros to invent better, more efficient desalination instead of putting a temporary bandaid to fix their stupid state's drought!

[Nutmeg]

I never thought of this but this is an interesting proposal. However I’m not sure what type of economic toll it could have on the Midwest.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/04/whats-solution-wests-water-crisis-desperate-ideas-explained/11274700002/

A pipeline from the Great Lakes will never, ever, ever, ever happen. Ever. The Southwest needs to conserve, conserve, conserve, and then conserve some more. They are still wasting tons of it. To be brutally honest, people who are still moving to Phoenix (or SoCal) are kidding themselves that that is sustainable long-term. Do yourself a favor and move to the Midwest before you are forced to move to the midwest b/c there's nothing coming out of your faucet and your house is now worth nothing.

Absolutely.

The article states, "The U.S. has plenty of drinking water — it's simply in the wrong place." I'd argue the opposite, that people are in the wrong place. It's absurd to place most of our largest population centers in arid places and then find ways to steal water from climatically pleasant regions thousands of miles away.

I know everything there is to know about western water supplies with the exception of complex engineering.

But you do not not have to be scientist to realize that 1) the Western United States actually has generous water supplies for an arid region, but resources are mismanaged and 2) we are not going to destroy large metropolis areas that are there now. We have solutions that are relatively simple that can ensure that Las Vegas and Salt Lake City are stiill around in one hundred years.

It can be true that these mega population centers are not efficiently located or planned and that humans will continue to wreck the environment to ensure their continued existence.

[HillGoose]

what water crisis? things are fine out here, i could go down stairs right now and turn the kitchen sink on and water would come out, what more could u ask for

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

It's actually illegal to collect rainwater in some parts of California because the water rights don't belong to you.

[kwabbit]

I understand that the Central Valley is naturally fertile, but why are parts of California that would otherwise be desert irrigated? Like how does this region have a comparative advantage over basically any other place at the same latitude? I don't understand agriculture in California from an economic standpoint.

[Joe Kakistocracy]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

That's merely a preview of what's to come in the spring, when this record snowpack starts melting.  The snow piles everywhere all around me are currently taller than I am.

[Frodo]

People could just move to less (historically) arid areas of the country. 

[Donerail]

I understand that the Central Valley is naturally fertile, but why are parts of California that would otherwise be desert irrigated? Like how does this region have a comparative advantage over basically any other place at the same latitude? I don't understand agriculture in California from an economic standpoint.

California has a Mediterranean climate — lets you grow a broad range of products and do so at times/at a scale impossible elsewhere. And the truth is that you have to irrigate for large-scale agriculture basically anywhere in the West (including the Central Valley); most of the state wouldn't be desert, but it's dry enough that you couldn't have agricultural production without irrigation. And, on that point:

People could just move to less (historically) arid areas of the country. 

Where do you think your food comes from?

[kwabbit]

I understand that the Central Valley is naturally fertile, but why are parts of California that would otherwise be desert irrigated? Like how does this region have a comparative advantage over basically any other place at the same latitude? I don't understand agriculture in California from an economic standpoint.

California has a Mediterranean climate — lets you grow a broad range of products and do so at times/at a scale impossible elsewhere. And the truth is that you have to irrigate for large-scale agriculture basically anywhere in the West (including the Central Valley); most of the state wouldn't be desert, but it's dry enough that you couldn't have agricultural production without irrigation. And, on that point:

People could just move to less (historically) arid areas of the country. 

Where do you think your food comes from?

Much of the Eastern US has become reforested after formerly being used for agriculture. Even the rural Black Belt which is now quite depopulated is only about half covered with farms and has very fertile soil.

Is it the relative dryness of the California that encourages growing these crops? If so I understand it.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I think there's a misunderstanding where the water goes to. Despite having 40 million people, 80% of California's water is used by agriculture and 47% is cattle related.

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

I think there's a misunderstanding where the water goes to. Despite having 40 million people, 80% of California's water is used by agriculture and 47% is cattle related.

Interesting. So the single biggest usage of water in California is cattle.
I would not have expected that.

[Trump v. Wong Kim Ark]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

That's merely a preview of what's to come in the spring, when this record snowpack starts melting.  The snow piles everywhere all around me are currently taller than I am.

Yeah, I’ve been hearing speculation of 1997 all over again. As long as it’s not 1862.

[Yoda]

I never thought of this but this is an interesting proposal. However I’m not sure what type of economic toll it could have on the Midwest.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/04/whats-solution-wests-water-crisis-desperate-ideas-explained/11274700002/

A pipeline from the Great Lakes will never, ever, ever, ever happen. Ever. The Southwest needs to conserve, conserve, conserve, and then conserve some more. They are still wasting tons of it. To be brutally honest, people who are still moving to Phoenix (or SoCal) are kidding themselves that that is sustainable long-term. Do yourself a favor and move to the Midwest before you are forced to move to the midwest b/c there's nothing coming out of your faucet and your house is now worth nothing.

Absolutely.

The article states, "The U.S. has plenty of drinking water — it's simply in the wrong place." I'd argue the opposite, that people are in the wrong place. It's absurd to place most of our largest population centers in arid places and then find ways to steal water from climatically pleasant regions thousands of miles away.

Yes. The water isn't in the "wrong" place, people are.

[Yoda]

I think there's a misunderstanding where the water goes to. Despite having 40 million people, 80% of California's water is used by agriculture and 47% is cattle related.

I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but it did hit home hard when I learned that it takes 20 gallons of water to produce 1lb of meat. We need to incorporate more fish and plant-based protein into our diets. The demand that livestock places on limited water resources is insane.

[Yoda]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

That's merely a preview of what's to come in the spring, when this record snowpack starts melting.  The snow piles everywhere all around me are currently taller than I am.

Yeah, I’ve been hearing speculation of 1997 all over again. As long as it’s not 1862.

I read a NASA report a couple years back that said California had lost some # TRILLION gallons of ground water since 2000 and ~41 TRILLION gallons since 1920. Cali is dryer in more ways than just it's reservoirs. Ground water aquifers have been severely depleted over the course of the drought and all efforts should be made to replenish them. Do I know if that's doable? Absolutely not but it sure would be nice if they could make some headway on it while they have this record snow pack on their hands.

[oldtimer]

I hope all of the idiots out here in California complaining about all of the water going to the ocean have rainwater collection systems. We’re supposed to get over 6 inches of rain in the next week where I live, maybe more. I wouldn’t want to live near a levee, that’s for sure.

If you have a drought in your area it means someone else is drowning in rain and snow.

This year California is drowning in water for a change.

[doc gerritcole]

the desalination plants are the far more interesting proposal here imo. why not? very money intensive but hey water is invaluable and sea water is practically infinite, plus maybe we can get into the selling salt business

[Donerail]

I understand that the Central Valley is naturally fertile, but why are parts of California that would otherwise be desert irrigated? Like how does this region have a comparative advantage over basically any other place at the same latitude? I don't understand agriculture in California from an economic standpoint.

California has a Mediterranean climate — lets you grow a broad range of products and do so at times/at a scale impossible elsewhere. And the truth is that you have to irrigate for large-scale agriculture basically anywhere in the West (including the Central Valley); most of the state wouldn't be desert, but it's dry enough that you couldn't have agricultural production without irrigation. And, on that point:

Much of the Eastern US has become reforested after formerly being used for agriculture. Even the rural Black Belt which is now quite depopulated is only about half covered with farms and has very fertile soil.

Is it the relative dryness of the California that encourages growing these crops? If so I understand it.

It's the dryness (a late rain can ruin crops) but also the fact that the relative stability of the climate means you can squeeze in multiple growing seasons.

[dead0man]

the desalination plants are the far more interesting proposal here imo. why not? very money intensive but hey water is invaluable and sea water is practically infinite, plus maybe we can get into the selling salt business

desalination is very harmful to all sea life in the area of the plant.  If we can figure out something to do with the HUGE amounts of brine created in the process we can get past the huge upfront costs and energy required to run them, but until we address the environment impact it would be irresponsible of us to do desalination on a large scale.

[Blue3]

Why is desalination desperate?

[Joe Biden 2028]

California NEEDS to invest in water storage and collection. The entire southwest does. The IRA provides money to do so.

Long term, desalination plants are the future. Saudi Arabia does it. It’ll be expensive but we need to ship the salt by truck and not dump it in the ocean for environment reasons

No one said drain the Great Lakes. That would be impossible. But long term we might need to ignore the “Great Lakes compact” and build water pipes. No one has ever built a 1000 mile pipe, much less across the Rocky Mountains. But it’s possible, look at the 800 mile Alaska oil pipeline over difficult terrain