Solving State’s Water Shortage
The front-page article by Lee Dye on piping water on the ocean floor from Alaska (March 25) was very interesting to me since I have studied the concept for many years. The proposed $200,000 feasibility study should include a far less ambitious goal to begin with. An underwater hose (as a starting project) could bring water from the mouth of the Klamath River in Northern California along the coastline through the Golden Gate and Carquinez Straits to the California Aqueduct. This is a distance of about 250 miles.
For a more ambitious project it would be foolish to go all the way to Alaska for water. The Columbia River, which discharges 120 million acre-feet of water into the ocean every year, is half the distance and could supply all of the necessary water without infringing on the needs of the those dependent on the waters of the Columbia and its tributaries.
There are no problems related to such a project that could not be solved with current technologies. In generations to come there will be underwater pipelines bringing water from numerous rivers to the arid continents all over the world. It will rival the Industrial Revolution in the impact it will have on mankind.
JOHN C. MORTON
Cathedral City
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
