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.
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