mississippi river

[megasupermagnum]

The Mississippi River? Dang that's a long way to dig a canal or run a pipeline.
Why doesn't CA just make the water? I mean, it just hydrogen and oxygen, how hard could it be to make?

They don't even have to do that much. All they have to do is get the salt out of their ocean water. But no, all they have is a bunch of crying about how expensive and bad for the environment desalination plants are while completely ignoring the fact that they live in a barren pit themselves. I've seen the Colorado river at various points from the headwaters to Yuma, AZ. The first time I went to Yuma I didn't even realize it was a river. I thought it was a drainage ditch. California can cry me a river, it's absolutely embarrassing they have been allowed to rape this country as bad as they have.

[rancher1913]

a lot of coments but nothing about how fesable the project would be.

really. unless you start way up north you will not have enough elevation to flow to california. without gravity flow you would need massive pumps that require massive amounts of electricity (thats the stuff we already are short on). lastly who is going to fund this folly, dang sure wont be california.

we grew everything that california grows in almost every state, just california was cheaper so the other states stopped trying to compete. we could very easily go back to other states growing actual food again.

colorado already pipes water from the colorado river to denver, it flows through a huge tunnel and dumps into the big thompson, and california can go suck a lemon if they think they can take that back.

[megasupermagnum]

really. unless you start way up north you will not have enough elevation to flow to california. without gravity flow you would need massive pumps that require massive amounts of electricity (thats the stuff we already are short on). lastly who is going to fund this folly, dang sure wont be california.

we grew everything that california grows in almost every state, just california was cheaper so the other states stopped trying to compete. we could very easily go back to other states growing actual food again.

colorado already pipes water from the colorado river to denver, it flows through a huge tunnel and dumps into the big thompson, and california can go suck a lemon if they think they can take that back.

Not even that would work. The Mississippi in Minnesota is tiny. Those pigs would have the headwaters in Itasca dry in a day. I don't think the river gets over about 8 or 10 feet deep anywhere in the state I've seen. Lake Pepin is deeper, but doesn't really count. It isn't until you get to Missouri that the river gets big.

[jsizemore]

If the water gets diverted to Cal, how do the commodities grown along the Mississippi get to the La. delta?

[shaggybull]

We just finished what the "State" calls water adjudication lasted 41 years they gave the water to tribe outside of irrigation season. 75% of the watershed is off the reservation, but they get all the water. We have two creeks that won't see water again until next year one is 8 miles long the other 14. The riparian zone along both creeks are dying.

[Thundarstick]

Most of the water in the Mississippi River comes from the Missouri, and Ohio Rivers. The Missouri River supplies the mud, and guess where that delta dirt started is journey from?

Build a couple of nuclear power plants to power desalination plants and let the water flow!

[baogongmeo]

If the water gets diverted to Cal, how do the commodities grown along the Mississippi get to the La. delta?

Come on man... Here's the deal...California is what's important not the rest of the country!

[Bmi48219]

They knew 40 years ago they were drying up the aquifers. Just kept developing more tracts and drilling deeper. The developers lied, bribed and blackmailed to keep going.
Now they want everyone else to pay to fix the problem.
California needs to start sleeping in the bed they made.

[GregLaROCHE]

California will not build a desalination plant because it would not look nice and they want our water.

Plans for building one are already in the works. They have no choice. It or they would be a lot cheaper than making water run uphill.

[bedbugbilly]

I thought there was a mass migration go Kalifornians from the elite Socialist Republik of Kalifornia . . . common sense says less population of sheep willing to follow a Judas Goat equals less consumption of water which, in turn, equals less need. Besides, getting the water from the Mississippi to the far west would require building "pipelines" and we all know that pipelines are "taboo".

[MUSTANG]

California has resources but chooses to continue to overpopulate and mismanage their own resources. It has gotten so bad at one point they wanted the Federal Government to force surrounding states to give them their water resources. About all of the states declined.

IMHO they should be given nothing ever, and i still have family out there. Their Governor and boot licking administration and happy faces in LA and San Fran just seem to be hell bent on destroying their state to achieve some sort of happy place nirvana.

And at the same time California was/is again diverting fresh water to run to the Ocean to address Greenies concerns about small Dace, Shad and other fish.

P.S. In the Muddy River behind the house we have Moapa Dace Fish. It's endangered!! Only difference between it and other Dace Fish in the West is it has one more Dorsal Spine than the other do!.

[trebor44]

California produce was 'cheaper' because agri-business was HEAVILY subsidized with low cost water provided by the Federal/State government aka the taxpayer. Don't fool yourself that the food comes only from Cali, check the point of origin not the company brand!

[MUSTANG]

Correct, the Fed/State Governments paid some fantastic amounts for "Water Impoundment and Diversion" from the early 1900's to now. Farmers benefitted immensely and were encouraged to "Claim" and settle lands in the west as these dams/diversions occurred. The truth is though; that the Dams and Diversions were because off massive flooding issues; not farming - that was a secondary benefit from the programs. We had a President who's ascendancy came from his advocacy of and oversight of Flood Control Programs in the west - His Name was Hoover. The Demi-God Roosevelt hated Hoover with a passion; refused to let the Name "Hoover Dam" be used.

[ebb]

The Glades in florida can produce good vegetables, but the ground to do it on is being used to grow sugar cane. Federal government give a big subsidy to make it all possible. All this has been going on since the 60s to put Fedel castro out of business. It hasn't worked but still they pay and good food is not produced.

[Eddie17]

Have you tried growing you own?

[popper]

california grows a huge percentage of the crops that all of us consume
Yup, when all the Okies went west. Most of Ca was previously DESERT!

[Hogtamer]

Geology and geography agree: Southern California has been and remains part of the desert southwest.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

strange question, but, maybe not. read something about diverting water from the mississippi river to the dry west. the drought has been going on for 20+- years. what makes the government think that it will stop. the river is going to flow into the ocean anyway. so, why not use it in the west. i live in the east; so it won't affect me. the cost would be most likely in the billions or more. but, could it be done? one last thing. i belive that california residents are limited to watering their lawns to 3 times a week. how about NOT AT ALL!! anyone that has a green lawn would pay a large fine.

a lot of coments but nothing about how fesable the project would be.

Feasible? Absolutely NOT!

But, originally you asked, "could it be done?"
well, yes, it could, I mean we put men on the Moon ...allegedly.

[quilbilly]

It is wayyyy too late for this kind of thing! According to tree ring data, there have been several droughts like this that have lasted over 75 years during the last several thousand years with the most recent about 500 years ago. That drought lowered Lake Tahoe over 150 feet feet below current level and actually allowed a forest to grow at that level (the dead forest is still there and has been researched). Upon seeing the research on that sunken forest, the California water resources agency speculated in a Sacramento Bee article that there would only be enough water per year in California to support a population of 10 million, less than 1/3 of today. The next shoe to drop will be in about 14 months when Lake Mead drops so far that it will no longer prodruce electricity for the SW or drinking water for Las Vegas. On the upside, those droughts apparently make the PacNW wetter and cooler leading to much better conditions for salmon.

[MUSTANG]

Porthos:

It is possible - Desirable; no.

Diversion of water could at times impact the Barge Traffic on the Mississippi; particularly as it gets into the New Orleans Region (New Orleans is not at the mouth of the Mississippi; rather it is about 50 miles above the mouth).

Diversion of the Mississippi would require one of two options. (a) Damming the Mississippi or (b) Pumps extracting water and pushing it up hill, across the Delta/Great Plains/Texas Hill Country & Rockies, and also the Sierras if California is to get it's "Fair Share". They barely win the battle with Levy's on the Mississippi; a dam would not cut it. (b) We have a country complaining about Hydrocarbon and Nuclear based power - how is a photovoltaic or wind array going to pan out for pumping that water over those distances & elevations? (Maybe we could just use the power from the Tesla my wife gave back to son #2 in the San Francisco area after trying it during the winter. After all, the electric cars are going to solve it all too).

Possible - yes. Prudent - no. Better options - Yes. (Can you say U-Haul).