Climate Change – Active Climate Rescue Initiative

Durable Solution for Colorado River.

Multiple massive projects caused the problem, but one massive project is the solution.

The Colorado River District presents: The 2023 Annual Water Seminar on Friday September 22, 2023

Expectations

The Colorado River District held the 2023 Annual Water Seminar. The seminar title inferred that they were seeking durable solutions for the Colorado River, yet they never asked the attendees for their durable solution suggestions.

Disappointment

It seems that the goal of the seminar was to present durable solutions focused on conservation which they have developed. The apparent secondary goal was to pat their own backs about their accomplishments and how much money they are spending.

Durable solutions focused on conservation are nice but are not really a solution. Conservation is just a method of enduring the problem, but does not fix the problem, so is not a solution. None of the discussion touched on fixing the root cause of the problem. So, in this page we will look at the root cause and how it can be resolved.

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving used for identifying the underlying causes of faults or problems. The goal is to prevent the reoccurrence of problems by addressing these underlying issues rather than just treating the symptoms.

Root Cause Analysis.

Before a solution to a problem can be enjoined, one must understand the cause of the problem. The flow of the Colorado River was predictable for decades, but now the river seems to be diminishing. It is not producing the same amount of water as it used to.

Dry tidal estuary of the Colorado River delta in Baja California, Mexico, on Thursday, 23 June 2022.

Why?

Human interference in the river is the root cause of this problem. The entire flow of the river is being diverted for human use. Much of the water is being transported out of the watershed, and every drop of the river’s water is being used which leaves the Colorado River dry at its delta. The Colorado River Delta was once a verdant 9,000 square mile oasis in the Sonoran Desert. This delta is now a 9,000 square mile desert wasteland. Gone is the lush green space and also most of the life associated with it. All that is left is sand and the limited, hardy life suited for dry conditions. This is manmade Climate Change on a micro level which has the domino effect of exacerbating Climate Change in the southwest USA.

What Changed?

As expected, creating a 9,000 square mile desert is going to affect the local weather. But unexpectedly it also broke a major hydrologic cycle which supplied water to the Colorado River. Over simplified, this water cycle begins in the Colorado River Delta where the Colorado River kept Laguna Salada, Baja, MX supplied with water. Water evaporated from Laguna Salada and moved north to the Salton Sea, where it again evaporated and moved north to Death Valley. Once in Death Valley it circulated around the Great Basin, eventually settling in the Great Salt Lake. Evaporation from the Great Salt Lake seeds the snow and rain for the Colorado, Green and Snake Rivers. The snow sent to the Colorado River watershed then supplied the river with its water which ultimately refilled Laguna Salada.

A Side Note.

The headwaters of the Colorado River are fed by multiple hydrologic cycles. All of them are needed to continue the historic river flow. With one of them broken, changes in the river’s flow are evident.

Solution #1.

Stop taking water out of the Colorado River. That is obvious. If overdrawing water from Colorado River caused the broken water cycle, just stop doing it. Well, if that occurs a few billion people will be upset. Their lives and livelihood are contingent on that water being available just as it has been for the last 100 years. Yes, the water can be replaced with desalination plants, but the number of them needed is staggering, and the energy draw is huge. This seems unworkable as a solution.

Solution #2.

Conservation! Yes, conservation is a good idea, but it is an interim fix, not a real solution. Conservation will make limited resources stretch further, but when the limited resource is diminishing, conservation is nearly futile. In this situation we have more and more people requiring water to live and work. The population of the region is growing from births, longer life, immigration, and relocation. It may seem obvious to move out of a water starved place, but people do not leave their homes easily, and new people just keep coming. So, the demand will increase while the supply is decreasing. Conservation can only accomplish limited relief and delay the inevitable.

Solution #3. The Real Solution.

Repair the Water Cycle. But how can man repair the water cycle without discontinuing what broke it in the first place?

Every hydrologic cycle is an engine which needs fuel to operate. The fuel for a water cycle is water, wind, and heat. The type of water is immaterial, so ocean water will work just as well as fresh water. Ocean water is in plentiful supply, but not in the right place to be of value, but we can move the water to a different place and make it work.

Laguna Salada, Baja California, Mexico, 2019

Move the Water! Step #1.

The optimum first phase is to refill Laguna Salada. Laguna Salada was once automatically refilled by the Colorado River, but since the water diversion began in the 1930s the water in Laguna Salada has been diminishing. The death of Laguna Salada was assured when California began diverting water meant for the Salton Sea, sending it west to their coastal cities. In 1999 Laguna Salada became officially dry and has had only limited water since. I think it is not a coincidence that the mega drought began in 2000. Because the water cannot be replaced from the Colorado River, a new source for water to fill Laguna Salada is needed. That source is the ocean, which is only 60 miles away, and a canal already exists. The flow direction of the Coyote Canal must be reversed so that ocean water will fill Laguna Salada. Once it has water it can begin to restart the broken water cycle.

Move the Water! Step #2.

The logical second phase is to refill the Salton Sea by extending the Coyote Canal from Laguna Salada to the Salton Sea.

The water in the Salton Sea is diminishing. This is not a new situation and is being encouraged by two things.

First, some of the water needed to fill the Salton Sea comes from rain and snow which is developed from evaporation from the south, from the Colorado River delta (virtually dry since 1940) and from Laguna Salada (virtually dry since 1999). Since both of these places are virtually dry, this moisture no longer migrates toward the Salton Sea.

Second, some water needed to fill the Salton Sea comes from farm runoff, but that has been diminishing since the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement. The settlement calls for the farmers to receive 20,000 acre-feet less each year. In 2013, about 100,000 acre-feet of water was diverted; in 2018, about 130,000 acre-feet of water was diverted; and by 2026, it will be 200,000 acre-feet of water being diverted per year. By diverting this runoff water from the Salton Sea, the Salton Sea will diminish.

California seems intent on drying up the Salton Sea. Over the last few decades, proposals have been presented to California, and pressure has been exerted on California to open a sea-water intake and increase the Salton Sea surface level back to the 1950s norm. All the proposals have been rebuffed. Instead, California has implemented dust mitigation projects which have the secondary effect of evaporating the water more quickly. All hope appears lost for those in the Imperial Valley whose lives are impacted by the diminishing Salton Sea.

California has allowed many lakes to go dry over the years, each one is an ecological disaster. To avoid another dry California lake, the Salton Sea can be saved by sea water importation via an extension of the Coyote Canal from Laguna Salada. This water path does not currently exist but is possible with about 30 miles of construction. There is one 150-foot hill in the way, but such things are easily surpassed. After that hill, it is all downhill to the Salton Sea. This type of construction is commonplace as is obvious while traveling America’s highways where rock-cuts abound.

Once the Coyote Canal is extended the level of the Salton Sea can be returned to its 1950s level. This increased surface level will encourage much more evaporation which will have multiple benefits. Some can be called Climate Justice because increased rain will be available for local indigenous peoples. By refilling the Salton Sea to its historic level, the local environment will be improved, but the saline level of the Salton Sea will not be greatly affected. Step #3 will reduce the salinity levels and make the Salton Sea a vibrant lake again.

The above steps #1 and #2 are inexpensive to implement and cost effective to operate. Once installed the water flow is all powered by gravity at no cost to anyone. Step #3 is not the same.

Pumping water great distances is not a new thing. It is done and has been done for many years. The difference is that this time it will help heal the environment.

Move the Water! Step #3.

Step #3 is the construction of pipes with pumps to transport Salton Sea water into Death Valley. This is an expensive project, but the costs can be funded by fees on water diverted from the Colorado River. Those who have been diverting water from the Colorado River have been doing so at no charge for decades. They have been misappropriating the natural resource and have caused damage to the climate as a result. Now is the time to begin charging a fee for Colorado River water. That fee can be used to fund the repair of the hydrologic cycle which they broke.

By pumping water into the Great Basin, the water cycle will be repaired. The Great Basin is an arid desert as a result of the Rain Shadow effect. Adding moisture into the Great Basin will cancel out the effect of the natural rain shadow and encourage the Great Basin to bloom. The additional moisture pumped into the Great Basin will circulate within the Great Basin and eventually make its way to the north and east sides of the Great Basin where some of it will migrate out and stock the snowpacks which create the water for the Colorado, Green, and Snake rivers. With the snowpacks once again full, the flow of the Colorado River will return to its former glory. The hydrologic cycle will have been repaired and the billions of people who rely on that water will be saved and secure for decades to come.

Durable Solution for Colorado River.

So, this is the best durable solution for the Colorado River. It repairs the root cause for the diminishing water supply. It repairs the broken water cycle. It will return fresh clean water to the headwaters of the Colorado River using mostly natural processes. All the costs, construction and operational, will be obtained from the users of the Colorado River Water. The operation can be managed by the Reclamation Bureau. This solution is durable because it will continue to operate as long as water is placed into the Great Basin.

Secondary Benefits Of This Durable Soultion.

There is a high number of secondary benefits to this durable solution.

The Cucapás are a group of Native Americans from Baja, California. The name translates to “cloud people,” which originated from the fog on the Colorado River. Cucapás were big on agriculture and also relied on fishing, hunting and gathering food.

Laguna Salada

Laguna Salada is the homeland for some Mexican indigenous people. The loss of the inland sea caused a loss of one of their livelihoods: Fishing. Refilling Laguna Salada with ocean water will return a food source to them. The refilled inland sea will also cool the local climate and return fresh clean rainwater to them. The increased rain will allow for increased farming in their local area.

During the 1950s and ‘60s, real-estate developers were touting the Salton Sea as a ‘miracle in the desert’, comparing it to the French Rivera. Multimillion-dollar yacht clubs, summerhouses, hotels and restaurants sprung up along the lake, transforming the area into a thriving waterside resort that welcomed 1.5 million tourists each year.

Salton Sea

Increasing the level of the Salton Sea back to its 1950s level will have some great benefits. Like Laguna Salada, the refilled inland sea will cool the local climate and return fresh clean rainwater to them. The increased rain will allow for farming with less irrigation, and also better availability to drinking water for the inhabitants of Imperial Valley. A boon for Imperial valley is expected return of tourist trade related to water sports on the Salton Sea. Investment in the Salton Sea location was heavy in the 1950s and that could be expected to return in full force once the Salton Sea level is stabilized and the salinity is reduced. The water pumped out of the Salton Sea will reduce the salinity and move the salt and other pollutants into the Great Basin.

The Great Basin

There will be huge gains for the Great Basin. The added moisture will change the desert into fertile land over time. This will not be instant, but rather a process of flushing the gathered salt from the land and the infusion of plant matter into the soil as the new moisture encourages new plant growth. Some human efforts will be required to slow the flow of water to encourage water infiltration of the soil. The indigenous people living in the Great Basin who now have water trucked into the reservations will be able to collect rainwater and later draw water from the ground as the aquafers refill. The Gret Basin could become a new breadbasket for the USA as the increased moisture encourages farming.

Sothern Idaho.

Where southern Idaho is now very arid, the increased moisture in the Great Basin will easily migrate up to Idaho. The snake River Aquifer will be refilled because there will be less demand for drawing its water as a result of the increased rainfall. The farming opportunity in southern Idaho will be greatly improved.

The Rio Grande River begins in Colorado, like the Colorado River. Both begin in the same mountains.

Rio Grande River.

Yes, even the Rio Grande River will have increased flow because of the increase of water in the Great Basin.

Move the Water!

This durable solution, this ditch digging project, this engineering project, will have multiple benefits for billions of people.

Spread The Word.

Spread the word that the Salton Sea must be saved and refilled to its historic level. This will benefit the people of Coachella Valley as well as all the people in Southern California who live and work downwind of the Salton Sea. By refilling the Salton Sea many benefits will be delivered, including a positive attack on Climate Change.

Help Reverse Climate Change.

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Save The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake has shrunk. In 1985 the lake filled to its capacity. In 2022 the lake is at its lowest point on record. Some fear the Great Salt Lake will soon disappear completely.

Does The Great Salt Lake Really Need Saving?

Since 1947, the Great Salt Lake has had a well-documented fluctuating surface level above sea-level between 4,190’ in 1963 and 4,211’ in 1986[5][6]. Without human intervention the lake would likely fluctuate within this range for many years to come and eventually turn into a salt flat, but that eventuality would be well beyond the lifetime of anyone alive today.

Great Salt Lake Hits A New Low.

The average daily level of the Great Salt Lake hit a new record low in November 2022, when it dropped to 4188.5 feet[7]. The lake’s elevation fluctuates depending on the balance between inflow and outflow of water generated by moisture within The Great Basin watershed. The Great Salt Lake’s drop has accelerated since 2020, with an average deficit of 1.2 million acre-feet per year. If this loss rate continues, the lake as we know it, is on track to disappear in five years. The lake needs an additional million acre-feet per year to reverse its decline[8]. For reference, the bottom of the Great Salt Lake is at 4,160 feet.

Left to right: Govenor Spencer Cox; Senator Mitt Romney; Brian Steed Great Salt Lake Commissioner

Utah Is In A State Of Panic.

Utah is scrambling for a solution to this situation. Gov. Cox proposed $45 million to protect the Great Salt Lake[10]. The US Senate passed the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act, dedicating $25 million to study historic drought conditions and protect the long-term health of the Great Salt Lake[11]. A Great Salt Lake Advisory Council was created in 2010 to advise on the protection of the Great Salt Lake[12]. Utah lawmakers passed a bill requiring appointment of a Great Salt Lake Commissioner who would prepare a strategic plan to maintain and improve the long-term health of the Lake[14]. Gov. Spencer Cox named Brian Steed as the state’s Great Salt Lake Commissioner[13]. A group of news, education and media organizations collaborated to create The Great Salt Lake Collaborative: A Solutions Journalism Initiative which is intended to better inform and engage the public about the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake, and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late[15].

Move The Water! To The Rescue.

Active Climate Rescue Initiative proposes one infrastructure project which will solve the issue of the shrinking Great Salt Lake, but surprise, it does not take any direct action toward the Great Salt Lake. We posit that the problem of the evaporating Great Salt Lake is an unintended consequence of overdrawing water from the Colorado River. Active Climate Rescue Initiative believes that the primary cause of this diminished Colorado River flow is a direct result of the excessive extraction of water from the Colorado River, with much of that draw being exported outside of the watershed. We also have identified this single solution, which when implemented will restore historic flow to the Colorado River and subsequently bring a host of other benefits, one of which will be the refilling of the Great Salt Lake.

Colorado Utah near Moab UT

Colorado River

Water has been siphoned off the Colorado River for human use for many years. As an example: California began extracting 1/3 of the river’s flow in 1939 and continues today. Under a 1948 agreement, Utah is entitled to 23% of the water used by the four states in the upper Colorado River Basin. This is around 1-million acre-feet of water from the Colorado annually[4]. Two-thirds of the Colorado River water in Utah is used for agriculture, mostly to irrigate alfalfa fields[1][3].

Everyone Feels The Pain

The issue with the Colorado River’s diminishing flow is shared among all users of the river water. Granted, some users of the river’s water are more concerned than Utah because the loss of that water means loss of drinking water and loss of electrical power for millions of people. Both problems seem much more important than alfalfa fields in Utah, but the problem still exists.

Working Within A Watershed.

Water drawn from a river and used within the watershed will eventually return in a smaller quantity to the river. A farmer irrigating his fields adjacent to a river can use river water and after that water is deposited on his fields, some is used by the plants, and some is evaporated, but what is left flows through the ground back to the river. Water drawn from a river and removed from the watershed will detrimentally affect the river flow. This is the case with the extraction from the Colorado River. So much is removed and not returned that the river does an unnatural thing, it diminishes to nothing.

Rivers 101.

A normal river begins with rain and snow which accumulates into a creek, gathers into a stream, and eventually a flowing river, possibly joined by other rivers, until it empties into a large body of water, like a lake or ocean. This was the case for the Colorado River, back into time before recorded history.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about [the] Cadillac Desert in the past few weeks, as the rain fell and fell and kept falling over California, much of which, despite the pouring heavens, seems likely to remain in the grip of a severe drought. Reisner anticipated this moment. He worried that the West’s success with irrigation could be a mirage — that it took water for granted and didn’t appreciate the precariousness of our capacity to control it.” – Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times, January 20,2023

Manmade Ecological Disaster.

During the 1930’s the Colorado River water began to no longer reach its delta. The delta began to dwindle halfway through the 20th century as the Colorado River was increasingly diverted to farms and cities[9]. The construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s marked the beginning of the end for the Colorado River Delta. For six years, as Lake Mead filled behind the dam, virtually no freshwater reached the delta[9]. The Colorado River Delta is now a desert.

Who Cares If The Delta Is Now Dry?

At first thought, why is it important that the delta is dry? Consider that the Colorado River Delta was a verdant oasis in a parched Mexico, covering approximately 9,000 square miles. Today that delta is dead. The 9,000 square miles is a desert. No more fishing or bird habitat. No more farming, blooming flowers, or tall trees. This is an ecological disaster caused by the excessive water extraction from the Colorado River.

How Does This Affect Utah?

At second thought, why should Utah care about a desert in Mexico? This question is answered by the fact that they are concerned about the Great Salt Lake becoming dry. Which may make you wonder how that is an answer to the question.

Let’s Explain.

The Colorado River water comes from snow and rain, but where does the snow and rain come from? The rain and snow come from more than one hydrologic cycle. The root of the problem with the diminished Colorado River flow is that one of these hydrologic cycles is broken. This one hydrologic cycle feeds the Colorado River Watershed from the south (oversimplified: Colorado River Delta, MX > Laguna Salada, MX > Salton Sea, CA > Death Valley, NV > Great Salt Lake, UT > Colorado River > Laguna Salada, MX). Some wish to blame this broken water cycle on Climate Change, but it appears much more logical that this is a manmade broken water cycle which is contributing to Climate Change, not caused by it.

The Colorado River Aqueduct, a 242-mile-long channel completed in 1941 by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, carries water from the Colorado River out of its watershed to urban Southern California.

Here Is What Happened.

During the 1930s, California created the Colorado River Aqueduct which began operation in 1939, removing 1,200,000 acre-ft (1.5 cubic km³) annually from the watershed. Other people/cities/states also draw Colorado River water. Those which are within the watershed have less effect on the water cycle than those which are outside of the watershed. The net result is that all the water of the Colorado River is fully used before it passes Mexicali, MX. It no longer refills Laguna Salada, and it has left a desert wasteland where there used to be a fertile river delta. With the water no longer refilling Laguna Salada and no longer moisturizing the delta, there is no water to evaporate and continue the Hydrologic Cycle. This has broken the Hydrologic Cycle, which has created a drought, which has spurred domino droughts, which has led to the current mega-drought.

The Rain Shadow effect exists because as warm moist air rises up the windward side of a mountain, atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude. The air expands and cools to the point that the air has reached its dew point. At the dew point, the moisture condenses, and it precipitates on the top and windward side of the mountain. The air descends on the leeward side but due to the previous precipitation it has lost much of its moisture. Typically, descending air also gets warmer because of compression down the leeward side of the mountain, which increases the amount of moisture that it can absorb and creates an arid region[22].

Great Basin Moisture Deficit.

The mega-drought exacerbates an existing natural issue in the Great Basin. The natural condition of the Great Basin is that of moisture deficit. This is because of the Rain Shadow Effect. The Great Basin has mountains all around it. The Rain Shadow Effect associated with these mountains allows more water to be blown-out than is allowed to be blown-in to the Great Basin, which creates a natural moisture deficit, which creates a natural desert. It has not always been this way. We see evidence of great amounts of water having been within the great basin. I will posit one explanation. Approximately 2,457 BC, at the end of Noah’s Flood, the great basin would have been full to the brim with water. Because of the natural moisture deficit, during the 4,480 subsequent years that water would have evaporated leaving the land dry, and large amounts of salt deposits left behind. Since the Great Basin receives its water from the west and south, and since the southern water-cycle has been broken, less moisture is entering the Great Basin, which is becoming evident with the diminished water level of the Great Salt Lake, and the Great Salt Lake achieving its lowest recorded level in 2022 (so far).

Can We Fix This?

So, what can be done? How can this be fixed? Like your personal family budget, when the income is exceeding the spending there are two things which can be done. The first is reduce spending and the second is increase the income. This is the same with the moisture problem in the SW-USA, and within Utah. To reduce the spending, conservation is the first action which should be encouraged so that there is time to enact the primary solution of increasing the moisture. To increase the income the water-cycle must be repaired. Is this possible without depriving millions of life-giving fresh water? The answer is: YES. There is one elegant solution which will repair the water-cycle. It is a multi-state infrastructure project. The focus for Utah must be repairing the water-cycle. The result will be a refilled Great Salt Lake.

One Infrastructure Project In Three Parts.

Part One.

Reverse the flow of the Coyote Canal so that ocean water from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) flows into Laguna Salada, MX. This would be gravity flow and it will begin to repair the water cycle. As the water passes through the now dry Colorado River Delta it will have beneficial effects on the delta. The return of water to Laguna Salada will also bring climate justice to the local indigenous people by restoring their fishing grounds.

The $45 million to protect the Great Salt Lake[10] and the $25 million to study historic drought conditions[11] would be better spent implementing this part of the plan in Mexico. Getting even one part of the plan done will lead to improvement for Utah. See the video below to for a tour of a proposed canal.

^{Video tour of a proposed canal from Sea of California > Laguna Salada, Baja, Mx > Salton Sea, CA, USA.}

Part Two.

Extend the Coyote Canal so that the Laguna Salada water flows into the Salton Sea. Care must be taken to assure that the Salton Sea maintains its historical optimal level from the 1950s. This would be by gravity flow, and it will continue to repair the water cycle. The increased water level of the Salton Sea would return commerce to the area, bring recreation to the sea, increase the local moisture with benefit to local indigenous people groups and native Californians in Imperial Valley and up into the Central Valley. The flow through from Laguna Salada, MX to the Salton Sea would assure Laguna Salada, MX does not become hypersaline.

Is This Enough?

No. The above two parts should be enough to break the mega-drought, but more is needed if the full flow of the Colorado River is to be realized. The hard part is next.

Part Three.

The hard part is pumping Salton Sea water into the Great Basin; logically into Death Valley. The flowthrough from the Salton Sea to the Great Basin would assure the Salton Sea does not become hypersaline, and in time reduce the saline level to that of the ocean. The exact amount of water needed has not been calculated. This proposal suggests five 8-foot diameter pipes carrying the ocean water over the mountains and into the Great Basin at a rate of 0.5 acre-feet per second. These 5-pipes with the 0.5 acre-feet per second flow mimics the Colorado River flow at its delta in ages past. The project can be installed in pieces. The first stage would be two 8-foot diameter pipes. The minimum proposed flow is 1/5^th of the freshwater annually extracted from the Colorado River, the flow of one of the pipes. The maximum proposed flow is equal to the amount of freshwater annually extracted from the Colorado River, 15 million acre-feet of Salton Sea water annually pumping from all 5-pipes. Depending on the ecological results, the full flow of all five 8-foot diameter pipes may not be needed. The water delivered into the Great Basin would end its water deficit and set it up for rehydration, which would be a boon on many levels.

That Is Expensive!

It may well be expensive, but what is the cost of doing nothing? The good news is that the cost of pumping the water over the mountain could come from a fee on water drawn from the Colorado River. Those who have drawn Colorado River water over the last century have done so without any charge for what they received, forgetting that nothing is free. The fee can be collected and administered by the Reclamation Bureau, along with operational control of the pipeline. The construction costs could be funded by the Federal Government as a Climate Change infrastructure project with the Corps of Engineers doing the work. Alternatively, the construction costs could be collected as part of the fees by the Reclamation Bureau. The proposed fee/tax would be on each gallon of water drawn from the Colorado River in an amount equal to the cost of pumping one gallon into the Great Basin.

The Benefits.

There are multiple benefits to the ‘Move the Water!’ plan. Seven are enumerated below.

1. Reversing Global Warming

This effort will combat Climate Change by cooling many very hot places. When working to reverse Global Warming, effort placed in the hottest places reaps the greatest direct benefit. All the target areas in this plan are very hot places and all will be cooler with the presence of the newly imported water. Increased water in deserts increases evaporation, which is a natural cooling process. The evaporated water returns as fresh clean water in form of mist/rain/snow, which is a natural cooling process. The fresh clean rainwater hydrates the land benefiting man/animals/plants. The hydration and increases plant growth. The increased plant growth cools the desert floor which will allow fresh rainwater to percolate into the ground and be stored for later use, which also keeps it from returning to the ocean. The plants cool the ground by their shade and release water as a byproduct of their transpiration, both of which are natural cooling processes. The increased plant growth increases the amount of CO2 extracted from the air by the now active plants, storing the carbon in their little plant bodies, and ultimately in the ground. All of these benefits are reaped from natural processes, green processes, leaving a net-positive green footprint.

The North American monsoon is a complex weather process that brings moisture from the Gulf of California over northwestern Mexico and southwestern US resulting in summer thunderstorms, especially at higher elevations[23].

2. Increase the North American Monsoon.

There is a lot of research still needed to fully understand the North American Monsoon, but there is some evidence which points to the desertification of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico as a cause of a temperature inversion which limits the North American Monsoon[16]. Restoring Laguna Salada should break this blockage.

3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX

Refilling Laguna Salada, MX, in addition to providing local climate change benefits as described above, will provide some climate justice for the local indigenous people who lost their historic native fishing ground because of the over-drawn river.

4. Salton Sea, CA, USA

Refilling the Salton Sea to its historic 1950’s level will return that area to its 1950’s popularity, which will be a financial boon for many which will also grow California’s tax revenue. There will be a moisture benefit for Imperial Valley which will naturally flow up into California’s Central Valley.

5. The Great Basin

Rehydration of The Great Basin will have many benefits. The increased moisture will increase mist/rain/snow. This freshwater will provide climate justice to the indigenous peoples living in remote desert reservations. The increased moisture allows for increased farming. In this case the Great Basin could become a new breadbasket for the USA. As the moisture circulates within The Great Basin multiple freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes will occur. With the increased moisture the Great Salt Lake will naturally have an increased surface level.

Southern Idaho is hand-to-mouth with their water supply. “Every drop of water we can get, every snow flurry is beneficial, but overall, across the state, we’re expecting the drought to continue. It’s great, but it’s not going to pull us out. We really want to see a kind-of long-term pattern develop; a pattern change develop.” hydrologist David Hoekema[24]

6. Rehydration Of Southern Idaho.

There is correlative data which links the level of the Snake River Aquifer to the level of The Great Salt Lake. Looking at the geology of the area it is easy to postulate that a rehydrated Great Basin would lead to a moister Southern Idaho.

Stock image of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir by volume in the United States.© bloodua/Getty

7. Colorado River.

Not to be forgotten, all the previous benefits will work to restore the hydrologic cycle, which will push freshwater (rain/snow) into the headwaters of the Colorado and Snake Rivers.

Perceived Problems.

Looking at the grand design this can be viewed as a terraforming project, but there are several suggested problems with a project of this scope. The good news is that all are manageable.

A terminal lake which has no surface outlet (rivers flowing from it) will become a lake with a very high saline level[21].

1. Salt.

The biggest concern is creating a hypersaline sea and/or leaving salt behind after evaporation. Be aware that all the areas where ocean water importation is proposed are areas which are already saline with brackish water aquifers. So, bringing in salt water is not an environmental catastrophe. Rather the resulting rain will work to overlay the salt water with fresh because salt water is heavier than fresh water. Aquifers being filled with rainwater will have fresh water on top of the brackish water. Decades from now the brackish water in aquifers will be of little concern. The salt left behind will be deposited in the terminal pool, which will be Death Valley, which is already a saltpan. It is likely that Death Valley will turn into an inland salt sea, and it will become hypersaline, but that is natural and cannot be avoided, however industrious individuals may find a way to profit from the minerals being delivered, including the salt.

At first it was a novelty as a wall of water an inch high began flowing down the wash a few feet below me. Soon there was several feet of rushing water sweeping away anything in its path and there was no place to go[20].

2. Flash Floods.

Rain in deserts can cause flash floods. This is normal and unpleasant. Expecting this allows for the situation to be worked around. Flash floods come when water is rained onto desert ground which is dry and devoid of plants. Consistent rainfall will allow plants to grow, which will slow the water flow. To alleviate this some geographic modifications can be accomplished to slow the flow of the rainwater, which will encourage better usage of the water along its path. This needs to be accomplished at the local level foresighted individuals and communities.

USA, California, Death Valley Salt Pan photographed by Gary Weathers.

3. Death Valley National Park.

The dry saltpan at the floor of Death Valley National Park will change from a dry lakebed to an inland salt sea. It is expected that this inland sea will become hypersaline. It can remain a National Park, but its features will be slightly changed, and it will likely see heavier use because of the new features. It still will be the lowest place in USA, but likely not the hottest as the increased moisture will cool the area.

Desert ecosystems receive less than 10 in (250 mm) of annual precipitation. Far from desolate, the deserts support high levels of biodiversity including iconic species such as Joshua trees, Mexican free-tailed bats, desert pupfishes, cutthroat trout, pronghorn antelope, desert tortoises, Gila monsters, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, desert iguanas, bristlecone pines, cuckoos, ocotillo, desert poppies, saguaro cactus, kangaroo rats and pigmy rabbits.   Desert biodiversity is the result of evolutionary divergence[19].

4. Existing Ecosystems.

Some have complained that the increased moisture would harm the existing ecosystems within the SW-USA, The Great Basin, Death Valley and in all the deserts which are rehydrated. When viewed with a different eye one can consider that the local critters are those who have not died out and would like a bit more rain. Yes, some of the critters who used to live there, but left when the water left, will return. That is only the natural ebb and flow of critters and ecosystems as a whole.

The West Desert Pumping Station is a series of three pumps designed to reduce the water level of the Great Salt Lake in case it should rise to threaten the shoreline industries, Salt Lake City International Airport, railroads, and even I-80 with flooding. The pumping plan is a system to pump water from the lake to the adjacent Newfoundland Basin, located to the west. The south end of Hogup Ridge, a few miles further down the causeway northwest of Lakeside, was selected as the pump site, and six and a half miles of canals were dug to and from the pumps. Completed rapidly in less than a year, at a cost of nearly $60 million in state funds, the pumps went online in April 1987. At the same time, a drought began, causing the lake level to subside naturally. The pumps were mothballed in 1989[18].

5. Overfilling The Great Salt Lake.

Yes, there can be too much of a good thing. It is possible that the hydrology of The Great Basin will be improved to the point that the Great Salt Lake could exceed its historical maximum, which could flood the communities built along its shore. Fortunately, there is a plan already installed, but mothballed in 1989: The Great Salt Lake Pumping Station[17][18]. But even this may not be enough, and a plan for a canal should be made to direct excess water far enough from the Great Salt Lake so that it flows by gravity back toward Death Valey.

Conclusion.

The overdrawing of freshwater from Colorado River has been and is detrimental to the environment, creating a desert where once was a fertile river delta, and breaking a hydrologic cycle. This has and is making itself known by the shrinking size of the Great Salt Lake. To make that wrong right the drawing of water from the Colorado River water should stop. We all know that is not even thinkable. The people using the Colorado River water will not give up their water without a huge fight. Move the Water! provides a workaround which allows no change in the use of the Colorado River water yet repairs our ecosystem and makes the landscape greener in the process. This proposed infrastructure project should be undertaken with all haste to repair our environment and return water indirectly and by natural processes to The Great Salt Lake. There is no real downside to doing this project. If an unforeseen consequence occurs, the project can be moderated by reducing the volume of water moved into Death Valley.

Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

Help Reverse Climate Change

Sources:

Has Move the Water! been proven?

We need your DONATION to help scientifically prove Move the Water!

Detailed explanation of the benefits of Move the Water! and call-to-action.

Here is a way you can help halt Global Warming. I am asking for your DONATION support so we can pay for a scientific weather simulation model study to determine the effect of proposed Move the Water! projects.

I am confident that Move the Water (#movethewater) will make a significant impact toward the reversal of Global Warming. All the plan’s working parts are well documented scientific facts; none of them can fail, yet some people just must see an official report to believe.

Understand that Move the Water!, while based on sound science, is extremely complicated with many elements all working in concert to accomplish the goal. A computer model constructed by knowledgeable scientists using state-of-the-art software and powerful computers can give a best-guess answer for specific locations, but nothing and no one can give 100% result of the outcome. No one knows the future and there are too many moving parts. Add that the model is specific to a single location; the pieces change by geography location, so a specific report for one location will only give general guidance of the potential outcome for a different location.

Regardless of the limitations, local decision makers require such computer models before approving Move the Water!.

Now is the time to DONATE.

Active Climate Rescue Initiative has established this donation page with a goal of US$200,000 to finance computer modeling of the Move the Water! initiative relating to the Laguna Salada, Baja, MX and Salton Sea, CA, USA projects. We have two quoted proposals (summary details are further below) and wish to accept both. The data will be much more valuable when the two sources independently come to same conclusion. There is a possibility for a third report, but we do not have the proposal yet.

We would like to be able to initiate both scientific computer weather model projects before the 17-19 MAR 2021 virtual Tres Lagunas Binational Summit for Laguna Salada & Salton Sea Restoration. Accomplishing that small thing will be a great encouragement to the summit participants and will stimulate the implementation of the Move the Water! initiative. It is our belief that completion of Move the Water! at Laguna Salada & Salton Sea will end the 20-year mega-drought in the SW USA and NW Baja MX, reduce the wildfire danger, increase the availability of drinking water, and yes, work to reduce Global Warming. This is important work.

The lack of these studies seems to be a block to the forward progress of Move the Water!. Move the Water! implementation must be approved by local governments and those entities must see these types of models to make their approvals and release construction permits.

Active Climate Rescue Initiative will not profit from these donations, from the report results, or from the installation of any Move the Water! project. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-profit, IRS 501.c.3 Public Charity with the sole mission of promoting the Move the Water! initiative to the world, so that Global Warming can be reversed.

As can be seen in the above video, we truly believe that Move the Water! is the best (not the only) way to push-back on Global Warming. The design of Move the Water! is simple, and low-cost (when compared with other proposals). The cost is a one-time expense, with only installation-energy consumption, but will have a perpetual, net-zero, positive, benefit against Global Warming by utilizing natural processes to cool hot places, lower ocean level, generate clean clear water, and sequester carbon. This is truly a win-win initiative. Win for the local people by improving the biome for their habitation. Win for Earth by lowering the aggerate global temperature.

Here are the summary details of the two proposals to model the weather patterns and proof Move the Water!

Computer Model Project #1

Modeling to be conducted by Dr. Mejia of Desert Research Institute.

Use the Weather Research Forecasting regional climate model to conduct a weather simulation study to determine if Laguna Salada, a seawater lagoon in the northern Gulf of California region, could stimulate summer rainfall in the Imperial Valley and Colorado River Basin.

Cost is estimated at US$100,000.

Lead-Time for the modeling: 1 year.

Computer model Project #2

Modeling to be conducted by Prof. Dr. Volker Wulfmeyer, and Dr. Oliver Branch of Earth System Solutions.

Use the WRF-NOAHMP model system in combination with a lake model to conduct a weather simulation study analyzing the impact of flooding Laguna Salada, Baja, MX and Salton Sea, CA, USA in a specific calendar month.

Cost is estimated at EU€60,000 (US$70,000)

Lead-Time for the modeling: 4 months.

There are two existing studies which I have found.

Climatic changes due to a deliberate flooding of the Qattara depression (Egypt). Article Bib No.: 305744. Authors: Segal, M.; Pielke, R.A.; Mahrer, Y. Publication: Climatic Change; VOL. 5 NO. 1, 1983; pp.73-83. Language: English. Geographical Area: Egypt.

Planetary Core and Surface Temperatures; Chapter 17. Appendix – Study of Temperature/Rainfall Correlation. Author: Cotton, D.J. Publication: SERN Electronic Journal; January 2013. Language: English. Geographic Location: Select towns and cities between the Equator to the Tropic of Capricorn (at about 23.5° South).

You are invited to view and share the Move the Water! YouTube videos:

You are invited to attend the Tres Lagunas – Binational Summit for Laguna Salada & Salton Sea Restoration. Registration for tickets here.

Please DONATE so we can get these scientific studies started.

Please share the video links and summit registration links to your fellow Climate Warriors.

Thanks in advance to everyone who can help.

REHYDRATE THE GREAT BASIN

Rehydrating the Great Basin will help reverse Climate Change and provide social Justice to many indigenous peoples located in the Soutwest USA.

The Great Basin is the largest area of connected watersheds with no outlet to the ocean in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. Its basin includes a range of topography that varies from the North American lowest point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. Within the Great Basin are many small basins such as: Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake, Salton Sink and Humboldt Sink.

Evaporated moisture from the ocean is carried by the onshore breezes. The moist air is driven upslope towards the peak, where it expands, cools, and its moisture drops to the ground. Most of the humidity will be lost to rain or snow before the wind passes over the mountain range. This casts a broad “shadow” of dry climate region behind the mountain ridges. This moisture deficit encourages deserts to form.

Rain Shadow

It is all about the rain shadow. Basically, the Great Basin is a 209,162-square-mile (541,730 km²) desert created by the rain shadow effect. The Cascade Range to the north, the California Coastal Ranges to the west, and the Sierra Nevada Range to the south provide a significant rain-shadow which has created this moisture deficit condition. Currently the problems in the region include the mega-drought and the associated shrinking Great Salt Lake. Also problematic is the diminished flow of the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande, and Snake Rivers. If the Great Basin could be converted to a moisture positive area, the benefit would be huge. Benefits would be delivered first to the basin itself, but then they would have side benefits to all adjacent areas.

Is It impossible To Thwart A Rain Shadow?

If we could flatten out the mountains the rain shadow would go away and the whole of the Great Basin would become moist and fertile. But it is obvious that the rain shadow cannot be removed. The mountains cannot be flattened. But there is another method. Moisture can be added to the basin via mechanical means, by pipes and pumps.

Pipes And Pumps

By moving the water with pipes and pumps we can rehydrate the Great Basin. this is a huge project with a multi-step process, and for brevity this page will address some of the major tasks which must be accomplished to make this occur. This is the most grandiose Move the Water! proposal for the USA where Global Warming can be impacted, and reversal initiated. Not all possible steps can be included in this page, and there are alternate options for every step.

The Benefits Are Immense.

Bringing water to a desert is bringing life to the desert. Where there is life, there are possibilities. The grandiose statement of return on investment is that by rehydrating the Great Basin a broken water cycle will be mended. Mending this water cycle will break the mega-drought, refill the Great Salt Lake, return full flow to the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande and Snake rivers. This will assure availability of water to the billions of people who depend on the rivers for their life and livelihood. The local Climate Change caused by overdrawing water from the Colorado River will be reversed reducing Global Warming in the southwest USA.

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, surface runoff, and subsurface flow. In doing so, the water goes through different forms: liquid, solid and vapor. The ocean plays a key role in the water cycle as it is the source of 86% of global evaporation.

Natural Processes

Once we add moisture to the Great Basin, it will recirculate via the hydrologic cycle throughout the whole of the Great Basin. With the water comes localized cooling and plant growth. Some of that water will exit the Great Basin toward the headwaters of the Colorado, Green, Rio Grande, and Snake Rivers, which all originate in the mountains of Colorado. These rivers will regain their full flow which will provide much needed water drinking, farming and industry, as well as for the fauna and flora of the regions. The cooler environment which will accompany this moisture will combat Climate Change by reducing local Global Warming reduction benefits. On the grand scale, there is no downside. Imagine the below video to be the Great Basin. It can be this way; we just need to add water.

Where there is water, there is life By Afrika24 Reisen

It can be this way; we just need to add water!

The Downside … Change Brings Change.

Change always brings disruption of status quo and unintended consequences, but for the greater global good, these must be endured. The problems are inundation of dry places with standing water, which may render some land unusable for farming or habitation. But standing water is the goal of this initiative and is essential to provide large water surface area for evaporation.

How to Accept Change Is Inevitable by marty wilson

Do you choose death or life?

The Downside … People Live There.

The counter argument is that few people live in the areas which will be submerged. The areas are hot dry deserts. The people who must be relocated can be moved to water’s edge properties, which are usually considered to be more valuable than raw desert land.

The Downside … Farmland Will Be Flooded.

The farmland in a desert is only valuable if irrigation water is available. The good news is that new areas of agriculture will be established. Once water is brought into the desert, and fills the depression, the hydrologic cycle will take over and fresh water will be created via rain, mist and snow, reducing the requirement for irrigation. This is the benefit which will make the change valuable to the farmers. The desert can become fertile and green with addition of water, and some wise land management. The below video gives one option.

From the Ground Up – ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ by festival21

The Downside … Flash Floods.

Rain in desert is associated with flash floods. These will occur and must be endured, but they will naturally diminish as plants cover the ground and impede the unimpeded water runoff. China has done amazing things to stem rapid water runoff from a landscape, and those techniques could be used in the Great Basin (see video near end of article: Regreening the desert with John D. Liu). The below video is aimed at a suburban community, but the information is excellent.

Wetlands Help Prevent Flooding

Flood Control

As the rain increases in the Great Basin, people will work to slow the flow of the rain, which will benefit the environment much. They will engineer wetlands which can contain a lot of moisture and reduce the potential for flash flooding.

Death Valley will become a terminal hypersaline lake.

The Downside … Terminal Water Will Get Salty.

Yes, it will get salty in the terminal lake basin in Death Valley. That is expected and not as much trouble as one thinks. The land which will be initially flooded is already salted from the body of water which previously occupied that location and evaporated. If this is a major problem, recirculation paths for the water can be established to eliminate Death Valley Basin as a terminal pool, but the cost is expected to be such as to discourage such a project.

How to Rehydrate the Great Basin?

This is a multi-stepped process with the end goal of creating a salt sea in Death Valley where the bulk of the evaporation will initially occur.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step One.

Bring sea water from Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) into Laguna Salada, Mexico via the Coyote Canal. The below video demonstrates the waterway as envisioned by Agess Inc as one option in moving water to Laguna Salada. The option proposed by Agess Inc seems to be one of the less expensive options and it seems to return many benefits.

Binational Restoration of Laguna Salada & Salton Sea by Agess, Inc

This is extremely simple to do.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Two.

Bring the sea water from Laguna Salada into the Salton Sea via an extension of the Coyote Canal. This is easily accomplished (easily is a relative term, but it is much easier than the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct, which is a 242 mi (389 km) water conveyance which crosses the Rocky Mountains delivering water from the Colorado River to Los Angeles CA. The extension of the Coyote Canal needs to be a metered flow to preclude overfill of the Salton Sea. The above video also includes visualization of the extended Coyote Canal. The below video is a video discussion of an alternative idea for filling the Salton Sea with water.

The Salton Sea Solution by stocktondan.

Rehydrate Great Basin … (optional) Step Three.

Install a drain in the Salton Sea. One of the problems identified by StocktonDan is the increasing salinity of the Salton Sea caused by continued evaporation. There are quite a few options presented to mitigate the salt saturation of the Salton Sea being proposed by many people. The solution that I present here is to drain the Salton Sea, but only after steps one and two above have been completed. The below video shows how a drain/valve can be installed in the base of a lake so the water can be drained out like that of a bathtub.

Lake Mead Intake Hydraulic Tunnel, Las Vegas by Salini Impregilo, but a surface level drain is much less expensive.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Four.

Step #4 is the construction of pipes with pumps to transport Salton Sea water into Death Valley. This is an expensive project, but the costs can be funded by fees on water diverted from the Colorado River. Those who have been diverting water from the Colorado River have been doing so at no charge for decades. They have been misappropriating the natural resource and have caused damage to the climate as a result. Now is the time to begin charging a fee for Colorado River water. That fee can be used to fund the repair of the hydrologic cycle which they broke.

Rehydrate Great Basin … Step Five.

Let the water flow. I expect that it will take much more than the full flow of one 15’ diameter pipe to fill Death Valley with water. If no other input is developed, I doubt that a large lake will form. There will be a balance point where daily evaporation will equal the pipe’s input. Filling Death Valley with water is the subject a paper by Chuan C. Chang: Creating Death Valley Lake His paper suggests multiple intakes with outtakes to keep the salinity to a balanced level. He expects that the land along the new inland sea and along the canals could be sold to individuals and the profit form the land sales would fund the project. Filling Death Valley with water is also the subject of the two videos below.

The Little-Pacific Project by Tribute Flight

Fill Death Valley with Ocean Water by thebillo313

Humorous presentation, but good idea.

We Have Water in Death Valley, Now What?

Now The Fun Begins. No further direct human action is required. What has been accomplished by moving the water there is the most important part. The hydrologic processes do the rest. Let’s review what will occur through natural hydrologic processes.

Water Evaporated and Returns

Water will evaporate from the surface of the newly formed Death Valley Sea. The water will be taken into the air for redistribution in mostly within the Great Basin with smaller amounts passing over the rim and entering the surrounding states. What water is removed will be replaced via the open water path. The evaporated water returned to the Great Basin in the form of dew on the ground in mornings, in the form of rain, and in the form of snow on the tops of the mountains. This returned water is cleaned water, suitable for drinking, for watering plants and irrigating crops.

Plants Grow.

Plants will grow when they have an ongoing supply of moisture. The plants retain water in their structure, they are made up of approximately 90% water, water which is not immediately returned to the ocean but retained as long as the plant lives. The plants clean the air of CO2. They return breathable O2 into the air and use the Carbon as building block for the plant structures, Carbon that will be held in the plant (sequestered) while it lives and be integrated into the soil as the plant eventually decomposes. Plants are natural air conditioners. As water evaporates from plant leaves; the air is cooled. Below is a video about how one desert plant, a moss, collects water from airborne humidity.

PLANT WATER RELATIONS by 7activestudio

Ground Water Collects

As plants shade the ground, the ground temperature is lowered, which allows the water to percolate into the ground, and be held there waiting for use. The soul will become moist and some underground aquifers will be refilled; again, slowing the water’s return to the ocean.

Water Movement in Soil by NRCS NSSC

Step-3:

Given enough time the hydrologic action should re-hydrate the entire Great Basin region. This could generate the natural refilling of several dry depressions within the Great Basin, including the Great Salt Lake. Just by keeping the waterways open allowing the Death Valley inland sea to remain full, these areas could be returned to a healthy fertile area, growing food for many people. The plants and the ground retain water, so the ocean levels are lower. The environment in these very hot places is cooled, which will cool the entire globe.

Videos About Greening Deserts

Get some water into the Great Basin, and then the entire landscape can be terraformed by natural processes, and/or with some human intervention, the Great Basin can become a really nice lush place.