LETTER: Letter writer got it right on water problem

Thank goodness for the wisdom of Joseph Stansbury, who wrote that the Southwest should look to the Columbia River to solve the water problem (Wednesday letter to the editor). This obvious but apparently difficult solution has been swirling around in my head for years now.

Would it be hard? Of course. Most difficult solutions are. Rights of way issues abound; pipe technology and pumping technology are also required — and expensive. Now, if oil can be piped from Alaska for refining in Texas, surely water can also be moved in the same fashion.

There are seven states involved in the Colorado River compact, and let’s not overlook the substantial use by the federal government with AI development and the like. So there is plenty of contributors to share in the expense of solving this problem.

The real question: When are we going to elect people smart enough to implement this solution and stop killing my lawn? The Columbia River dumps trillions of gallons of fresh water into the Pacific Ocean every year, and the Snake River does, too. We can benefit from this flow and solve our problem for the foreseeable future. When do we begin?