Long-Distance Water Pipelines a Possibility?

Large-scale water pipelines have often been shot down because they are extremely costly to build and to operate. It takes enormous amounts of energy to pump water through pipes. Such projects implicitly assume that existing water systems will remain the same for some time to come; that is, the locations of supply and demand will remain relatively unchanged, thus making a permanent pipe worthwhile.

It also assumes that there are places where it’s safe to divert water. But pipelines have serious effects on the environment, both at the water source and along the path of the pipe itself due to construction. Pollution can also play a major factor when transporting water over long distances, requiring costly monitoring of the supply to maintain quality standards.

Plus there are legal conflicts with no obvious answers. Who controls the water when it’s transported over vast distances? The people who constructed the pipeline? The regional authority where the water is being drawn from? The federal government? What about water that crosses international borders or causes a reduction in water in surrounding regions? And is water really something that ought to be bought and sold like a commodity?

Although lengthy pipelines are a distant pipe dream in America, we’re certainly not the only ones with water transportation on our minds. In 2002, China began construction on the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), the largest water-transfer project, both in terms of volume and distance. It consists of a network of canals and will stretch a total of 4,350km when completed, or about the distance between America’s coasts. The project was initially estimated at $60 billion, but it’s already clear it will go well over this, and construction isn’t expected to be complete until 2050. The project faces criticism and it’s possible the effort will create more problems than it solves. Only time will tell if it was worth it.

Sources

1. The Atlantic: “China Has Launched the Largest Water-Pipeline Project in History” (Mar 7, 2014)
2. Natural Resources Defense Council: “Pipe Dreams: Water Supply and Pipeline Projects in the West” (Feb 21, 2013)
3. University of Wisconsin: “Water is Life – Water Pipelines” (2004)
4. Water Technology: “South-to-North Water Diversion Project, China”