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should be met with conservation and policies that increased water reuse. Those measures are the focus of the more modest options in the plan. Constructing a major pipeline is "absurd," said Jason Bane of the Boulder, Colo.-based Western Resource Advocates.
• But some western interests are pressing for more aggressive steps.
• Patricia Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said the nation must keep an open mind to a variety of ideas for meeting water needs, including pipelines that could provide a dual benefit: Removing excess water in flood-prone areas like the Midwest during high water periods, and transporting it to areas like the West that have an urgent need for water.
• "Maybe it's time for us to look at marrying the concepts of flood control and drought protection," Mulroy said. "We've seen in the middle portion of the country some devastating flooding going on. Should we be talking about preserving those floodwaters somehow and not putting New Orleans at risk and some of the other communities at risk year after year?"
• The Missouri River pipeline plan notes that water wouldn't be diverted during droughts. But Bane said that if both the West and Midwest are in drought, water battles would almost certainly ensue.
• The pipeline proposal calls for a large treatment plant near Leavenworth, Kan. The pipeline would run roughly adjacent to Interstate 70, with the flow moved in part by a series of high-capacity pumping stations. It would supply roughly 1.2 million households in the western states.
• The western states now depend heavily on the Colorado River. In announcing the water demand study early last year, the Bureau of Reclamation noted that the natural water supply of the Colorado River basin varies from year to year, with localized shortages now routine. The study said demand is rising as the western population grows, but that supply may decline due to climate change.
• Ideas about moving water from one place to another have been broached before, and more are being proposed.
• California Gov. Gov. Jerry Brown and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in July announced plans for a massive twin-tunnel system to carry water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to provide water for cities and farmland.
• In May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the second time denied a permit for a 500-mile pipeline to carry water from the Green River in Wyoming to Colorado's Front Range.
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