In chapter 7 of Unquenchalbe, author Robert Glennon describes various water schemes that have been invented and considered to help import water from water rich areas to water-short areas. Those who have come up with these schemes he calls "water alchemists;" ultimately meaning that these "alchemists" come up with propostions to get water from one place to the other, but the propositions become paradoxical. Here are some of the examples that Glennon uses to express his point.
· (2007) $34 billion dollar pipeline that would allow the sale of water from Canada to the southwestern United States.
· (1960’s) dams on the Klamath, Trinity, and Salmon rivers to help move water south to Los Angeles. However, the hydroelectric power needed to pump water under mountains, over mountains, and through mountains would require dams located in the Grand Canyon. This would mean flooding the Grand Canyon. The Sierra Club said it would be like flooding the Sistine Chapel “so tourists can get nearer the ceiling.”
· (1990’s) undersea pipeline from Alaska between the Copper River and Lake Shasta, where the water would enter California’s distribution system. A pipeline 2,100 miles long. The congressional Office of Technology Assessment concluded that it would be one of the most complex and expensive engineering projects in history (estimated to cost 150 billion dollars plus). It could also have detrimental effects on the environment (the Copper River being the home to world-famous wild salmon).
· (2002) Alaskan water captured using pipelines buried beneath rivers, transported to offshore loading facilities in the Pacific Ocean. Water would be loaded into gigantic polyfiber bags and tug boated to San Diego. The plan dissipated into nothing because it would cost millions of dollars just to conduct environmental impact studies.
· Aaron Million’s Scheme (see Million’s Quest)
Glennon’s point in this chapter is that these schemes are all based on an “engineering mentality that assumes there must be a technological fix to water shortages.”
