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Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or pipedream?

Mississippi River project
Posted at 12:52 PM, Feb 01, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-01 18:22:29-05

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Amid a major drought in the Western U.S., a proposed solution comes up repeatedly: large-scale river diversions, including pumping Mississippi River water to parched states.

Just this past summer, the idea caused a firestorm of letters to the editor at a California newspaper.

In 2021, the Arizona state legislature passed a measure urging Congress to investigate pumping flood water from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River to bolster its flow.

READ MORE: Denver7 drought coverage

Studies and modern-day engineering have proven that such projects are possible but would require decades of construction and billions of dollars.

Politics are an even bigger obstacle to make multi-state pipelines a reality.

Yet their persistence in the public sphere illustrates the growing desperation of Western states.

Read this full story on the Associated Press website here.


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