The Mighty Mississippi to the Rescue: Saving Goble’s Golf Courses
The Colorado River Basin (CRB) has been hard hit by drought leaving city and county officials scrambling for solutions. Thus far conservation and recycling programs have proven to be the most efficient, but how much can conservation do to address the demands for water in the arid climate in the lower basin. Solutions have been suggested by thousands of people and according to officials with the Southern Nevada Water District, nothing is off the table. Well some things may be off the table such as wrapping icebergs in plastic sheathing and towing them south then catching the melt water; or filling large zippered bags from lakes in the eastern U.S. and transporting them to drought stricken areas. One idea that has not been taken off the table but many consider crazy is a pipeline that transports water from the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers to the Colorado front range.
The issue stems from a lack of water, or at least a lack of water in the right places. The CRB supplies water to seven states and Mexico based on the Colorado River Compact of 1922. The compact specifies the distribution amounts of the river’s water to which each stakeholder is entitled. Unfortunately, the 1922 Compact was based on six years of river flow estimates that were the wettest period of the twentieth century; in fact tree ring studies reveal that it was the wettest period in nearly 550 years and this dreadful drought is simply a return to normal. The Compact is based on an average annual flow of fifteen million acre feet (MAF) but studies show the true average to be much less; The three-year CRB Water Supply and Demand Study has found that the annual water deficit could be 3.5 MAF, that translates into an estimated 1.2 MAF deficit per year for Lake Mead, which results in a loss of 10–12 feet in lake elevation.
Many blame the water shortages on “global warming”, and to an extent it has had an adverse effect. Ninety percent of the river’s total flow is derived from snow melt and precipitation in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming; the warmer climate has resulted in less dense snowpack and thus less melt to fill the streams and tributaries that eventually make up the river. The river in turn provides eighty-eight percent of the water that fills Lake Mead which is the water supply reservoir for the southern Nevada area.
Consumption increases have placed a major strain on the river’s ability to keep pace with demand. In terms of growth, just prior to this drought period, the 4 states with the fastest growing populations in the nation were Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah; While at the same time California added 4 million people who depend on the basin for water and the Las Vegas area grew by 83 percent. Over 30 million people rely on drinking water from the Colorado River Basin but that accounts for less than 20 percent of the rivers flow. Agriculture accounts for roughly 80% of all basin water; area agriculture produces 15% of the nation’s crops and 13% of the nation’s livestock which is a valuable component in the economy and food supply chain.
Conservation programs have been largely successful in keeping the tap flowing. Turf removal programs where homeowners are paid to remove landscaping requiring irrigation in favor of water smart landscapes. Some communities have banned personal swimming pools for single family residences. Public parks and golf courses have been placed on strict watering schedules. Some communities have also instituted what is often called the “toilet to tap” program where raw sewage is treated and released back into the reservoirs as clean drinkable water. However, conservation can only go so far; populations are expected to continue to increase in the areas supported by the CRB.
The fact cannot be avoided that those dependent upon the CRB need to either reduce consumption or find new methods of supplying the growing demand.
The Mississippi River watershed drains 41% of the continental United States, which equates to 1.5 million square miles covering 31 states in addition to two Canadian Provinces. It is the fourth longest and tenth largest river in the world. Measured by flow it ranks fifth in the world discharging between 200 and 700 thousand cubic feet of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico. Its tributary, the Missouri River is also being investigated as a possible source of increased flow to alleviate pressure on the Colorado River. The Missouri River project would utilize a 600 mile pipeline from Leavenworth, Missouri which could supply communities as it crossed Kansas. It would terminate in the South Platte River Basin which provides water to Denver and many Front Range communities that currently get about 72% of their water from the Colorado River. It is estimated that the pipeline could deliver 600,000 acre feet annually which would supply about one million residences. The Mississippi River project would begin in the Lower Mississippi just downstream of the confluence with the Ohio River. It proposes a 12 foot diameter pipe that would extend 775 miles to the Navajo River, which flows into the San Juan River and eventually the Colorado River. Estimates indicate the pipeline could supply approximately 675,000 acre feet of water annually that would mostly be consumed by agricultural users, but would alleviate an equal flow that is currently pulled from the Colorado River, thus allowing it to be used in the growing cities in the lower basin!
Professors, scientist and engineers all agree that years ago they would laugh at such a proposal but the fact that they are seriously studying the concept demonstrates how dire the circumstances have become. Many factors must be considered such as initial cost estimates of 8.6 billion dollars for the Missouri project and 22 billion for the Mississippi project. Additionally, environmental impacts, effects of reduced flow on the Mississippi on commerce and salt water encroachment from the Gulf. There are also legal considerations such as who owns the water, rights of way, and more. These are massive project reminiscent of the Tennessee Valley Authority and Hoover Dam and will take a massive infusion of funds but if it means Steve Goble can have lush green golf courses, it may just be worth it.
