/r/ColoradoRiverDrought

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/r/ColoradoRiverDrought

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8

Would 2,500 acre-ft /per day of water diverted from the tributaries of the Columbia River and Missouri river make a dent in the Colorado River Drought?

My idea: The US builds three water diversion tunnels and two nuclear reactors in Wyoming all in an effort to save the Colorado River Delta.

The first and shortest diversion tunnel would take water from the south arm of the Yellowstone Lake (point A) to Heart Lake (point B), about 7.69 miles to the west/southwest.

Not much energy input would be needed to convey the water from point A to point B. The south arm of the Yellowstone lake is roughly 7,780 ft above sea level and Heart Lake is roughly 7,460 ft above sea level. It could ideally flow naturally at 0.79% in a tunnel assuming construction of the tunnel had adequate cover.

The second water diversion tunnel would take water from Palisades Reservoir (point C) to 42.96142, -110.60071 (point D), about 31.56 miles to the southeast.

This diversion tunnel would require some serious pump houses and I would propose a new nuclear reactor be built in Alpine, WY to power how every many pump houses are need along this diversion tunnel. Palisades Reservoir sits at roughly 5,620 ft above sea level. The idea would be to pump the water up to the dividing line between the Greys River Basin and the Green River Basin at an elevation of roughly 8,640 ft above sea level (a 3,020 ft elevation gain). The tunnel could fan out just 6 miles north of the top of Mt. McDougal, distributing water between several creeks that flow to the Green River.

The last diversion tunnel would take water from Boysen Reservoir (point E) and send it 93.85 miles to southwest into the Big Sandy Reservoir (point F).

This diversion tunnel would also require a lot of energy input to move water and I would propose a nuclear reactor be built just north of Farson, WY where the water enters the point F. Boysen Reservoir sits at 4,740 ft above sea level and Big Sandy Reservoir is at roughly 6,760 ft above sea level (a 2,020 ft elevation gain).

All in all, this would pull water out of the Columbia River and Missouri River tributaries and send it to Green River which is a tributary of the Colorado River.

Looking at reservoir outflow data, I think 250 cfs could be rerouted to Palisades via Yellowstone Lake, and the 750 cfs could be rerouted from Palisades reservoir to Big Sandy Reservoir, plus additional 500 cfs from Boysen Reservoir. That could provide about 2,500 acre-ft per day to the Green River which flows to the Colorado with the potential to greatly increase that number during spring runoff months.

7 Comments
2024/11/01
21:28 UTC

13

Who Killed the Colorado River?

1 Comment
2024/10/21
02:54 UTC

0 Comments
2024/04/21
15:55 UTC

8

Water Scarcity Survey in Search of Solutions

Water Scarcity Survey in Search of Solutions

We are geography students at UW-Madison working on our senior thesis project.

This is not extractive research. We are residents of these regions and are primarily interested in learning from and aiding our respective communities through participatory research methods.

English: https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2aBlUoXdSATN57E

Spanish: https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2mz0AmJapOKMuuW

The Colorado River Basin and Spain have both experienced prolonged periods of water scarcity over the last few decades, and we are interested in comparing public perceptions of the reasons for water scarcity in both areas. The survey consists of nine questions and should take about 5 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary: you may skip any question or exit the survey at any time. We are not collecting any personal information.

We truly appreciate your support, knowledge, and participation!

0 Comments
2024/04/13
09:14 UTC

15

Why can’t the government use emergency powers to curtail non-human agricultural irrigation that consumes 30% or more of water?

Clearly the government has emergency powers to prioritize residential water use. A free market approach for cities to acquire agricultural rights, but a threat by the government to curtail non-human crop irrigation could help facilitate those transactions. Why isn’t this being done?

6 Comments
2024/01/20
17:14 UTC

29

Vanishing Colorado Trailer

11 Comments
2024/01/13
00:30 UTC

24

Just made a video about Lake Powells Drought and what the B.O.R is up too. Check it out! The full video is on YouTube.

1 Comment
2023/12/18
01:25 UTC

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