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Each year our southwest states suffer another disastrous water shortage. Last summer, retired engineer Donald Seifkes published an ambitious solution: an aqueduct from the perennially flooded Mississippi swamps to the parched Colorado river.
The plan was attacked because of environmental, economic and logistical issues, but the proposal deserves serious consideration.
A transnational network of water pipelines would cost $2 million per mile, and could be installed alongside our 50,000 miles of existing oil and gas pipelines, minimizing environmental disruptions. New and existing collection reservoirs in heavy rainfall localities could be utilized to capture excess rainfall (South and Midwest) and pump it to drought-stricken locations like Lake Mead and Lake Powell.
Ten water pipelines spanning the entire country would cost an estimated $50 billion and new reservoirs, if needed, might cost another $50 billion. Such a project would have universal economic benefit. Worth a try!
Thomas Husted
Kapolei
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