Thirsting for Water Answers

Reading “Plan to Bag Rivers May Not Float,” Eric Bailey’s fine March 2 story on entrepreneur Ric Davidge’s scheme to “suck fresh water from two North Coast rivers, stow it in massive poly-fiber bags . . . and tow the floating sacks . . . south . . . to slake San Diego’s thirst,” I recalled Henry David Thoreau’s reaction to a similar scheme, on a much smaller scale, to install pipes to transport water from his beloved Walden Pond to homes in the nearby village. It climaxes with his lament on the degradation of the pond and the destruction of the surrounding woods:

“My Muse may be excused if she is silent henceforth. How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down? Now the trunks of trees on the bottom, and the old log canoe, and the dark surrounding woods, are gone, and the villagers, who scarcely know where it lies, instead of going to the pond to bathe or drink, are thinking to bring its water, which should be as sacred as the Ganges at least, to the village in a pipe, to wash their dishes with!--to earn their Walden by the turning of a cock or drawing of a plug!”

Richard Abcarian

Venice

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The entrepreneurs who want to ship fresh water in gigantic bags from Mendocino County rivers to San Diego need some way to generate strong political support from the described urban refugees, environmental activists and communal residents of the northern county. Perhaps by finding some way to offer the area’s residents something those folks would value as much as the south appreciates fresh water. For instance, if marijuana could be legalized for Mendocino County, the good people of that region might think it a splendid idea to export a little of the river water that was destined for the Pacific Ocean anyway.

Tim Newman

Newport Beach

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The proposal to haul bagged water from northern rivers to Southern California would be manifold less productive in saving water than would a simple adoption of xeriscaping. Such measures have received scant attention.

Santa Clarita Valley, where we are temporarily residing, has done much in this direction and is indeed beautiful. But the coastal areas appear to have done almost nothing. It really needs to be pushed as demands for water increase. The greatest consumption of water goes to landscaping efforts with lawns, shrubbery and trees that emulate those in areas of high precipitation.

Francis E. Lawlor

Stevenson Ranch