LETTER: Water importation plans not feasible for the Vegas, Southwest
In his recent letter to the editor, Joseph Stansbury proposes to import large amounts of water from other states or water basins. But this is not viable due to many longstanding legal and regulatory hurdles. And the astronomical expense and extensive infrastructure required for such projects would be fiscal and technical stoppers.
There are laws and water-use compacts governing every major water source in the United States and Canada. For example, the Great Lakes compact prohibits new or increased diversions without every member state (and Canada) approving— period. The Columbia, Snake and Truckee rivers have very restrictive water use laws, as do most other continental water sources.
And although it may appear that some areas in the country have water to spare, all face diminishing supplies. All continents are drying out due to climate change and over-pumping of ground water. The Ogallala aquifer is down in some areas as much as 40 percent from peak levels. The Mississippi River has experienced levels so low that all barge traffic is halted.
The experience of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, which in 1989 sought to build a pipeline to pump groundwater from rural Nevada counties, is instructive. The plan was finally shelved in 2019 after decades of losing legal battles.
The only realistic solutions we have for the foreseeable future will be conservation and how we use our available resources. Alfalfa to China and Saudi Arabia? Data centers that use huge amounts of water (and power) for cooling?
