Not For Sale: The Great Lakes and the American Southwest’s Water Crisis

For the majority of people who live in developed countries, turning on the faucet and pouring a glass of water is second nature.  Rarely do we pause to think about where that water comes from or the systems that transport that water to our faucets.  But what happens when one day the faucet is turned on and no water comes out?  This is a concerning scenario that is quickly becoming a reality in the American Southwest.  

Over the past two decades, the American Southwest has been mired in a drought, and scientific studies only forecast that this drought will only worsen.  The Colorado River, one of the primary sources of drinking water for the Western United States, is in critical condition.  The river, which provides drinking water to over 40 million Americans, has already been drying up at an alarming rate over the past few decades and now may potentially lose up to one-fourth of its flow by 2050.  To compound these problems, many southwest states such as Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado are some of the fastest growing in the country, as the additional population growth further strains the Colorado River’s ability to meet water demand.  

The bleak water future for the American Southwest is starkly contrasted with the Great Lakes region. The eight primarily midwestern states that comprise the Great Lakes basin have a promising water future.  The Great Lakes represent 84% of all the freshwater in North America and 21% of the entire world’s freshwater.  Additionally, the Great Lakes basin only has a population of 30 million people, so all water demand is easily met.  This is a massive difference from the west where the Colorado River, which is a fraction of the size of the Great Lakes, provides water to roughly the same amount of people as the Great Lakes.

One often-suggested solution to the water crisis facing the American Southwest is to transport water from the Great Lakes to Southwest states for consumption.  The idea is hypothetically simplistic; picture you taking your full glass of water and passing it across the table to your friend’s nearly-empty glass, so they may quench their thirst.  Except in reality, your friend is thousands of miles away, and they need more than a small sip of your water.  This idea has increasingly gained more traction, as top scientists at NASA have even warned that as the water crisis worsens, pumping Great Lakes water Southwest may become absolutely necessary.  

The debate to transport Great Lakes water westward raises many ethical dilemmas.  Should the United States let Southwestern states collapse and watch people suffer as the water runs out?  Is it right to take away critical resources that the Midwest is legally entitled to in an attempt to fix the mistakes of the Southwest?  In truth, there is no easy answer.

Analysis: The Great Lakes should not be used to alleviate the American Southwest’s water crisis and instead a combination of other actions should be taken instead.  

Any potential “Great Lakes Project” that transports water out west would have detrimental environmental, legal, and economic repercussions for the entire United States. Below, I will go through the disastrous implications any project would have through a variety of different lenses.

Economics – The cost of building such a system of pipelines, pumps and additional infrastructure to carry water thousands of miles would be astronomical. Construction costs would surely be tens of billions of dollars and the inevitable maintenance costs only exacerbate the staggering costs.  

Environmental –The removal of additional water from the Great Lakes will decimate wildlife habitat and lower the Great Lakes’ drinking water quality.  Additionally, a cross country water pipeline system requires untold amounts of energy.  An undetermined number of new power plants, running mainly on fossil fuels, would most certainly need to be constructed.  This will significantly hinder the United States’ ability to curtail carbon emissions and fight climate change.  

Legal –Currently, The Great Lakes Compact, a legal pact signed by all 8 states along the Great Lakes, bans the diversion of Great Lakes water outside the basin unless agreed upon by all eight states.  This compact was approved by both Congress and the President (George W. Bush).  It has been speculated that in a National Emergency, such as the dire water circumstances out West, the Compact could be challenged and overruled, since Congress and the President have the ultimate power over the states.  In this circumstance, the Great Lakes states would be forced to ship water out of the basin to save the Southwest.  This could open up the legal equivalent of Pandora’s box, as many other states, counties or cities may attempt to use the overturn of the Great Lakes Compact as legal precedent to take water from other sources so they may secure their own water future.  The Riparian and Prior Appropriation water laws that have governed the entire United States throughout history could also be affected, further plunging various American water disputes into deeper turmoil.  

No one solution will solve this water conundrum and the only way to address this crisis is through a coordinated effort between Southwest states.  Below are a few important actions these states can begin to take to combat the water crisis. 

1. California should continue to ramp up its desalinization efforts to reduce its dependency on the Colorado River.

Every day, huge amounts of Colorado River water are piped to Southern California to meet the heavily populated region’s high-water demand.  To alleviate the strain California puts on the Colorado River, California needs to take advantage of the Pacific Ocean and ramp up investment in desalinization. California already has a successful example, as the Carlsbad Desalinization plant in San Diego provides 50 million gallons of desalinated water from the Pacific to over 400,000 consumers each day.  While Carlsbad cost roughly one billion dollars to build, that is way less expensive than any potential “Great Lakes Project”.  More desalinization plants will further reduce the strain California puts on the Colorado River.

2. Arizona cities should follow the lead of Phoenix and reduce overall water consumption.

Phoenix has taken a variety of successful ventures to improve its water future as the Colorado River faces increased uncertainty.  The city has built multiple water banks to store unused water for future consumption and all wastewater is recycled so it can be reused.  Additionally, the city water district charges a higher price for water in the summer which has successfully reduced the amount of wasteful grass lawns.  All these measures have allowed Phoenix to reduce per capita water usage by 30% over the past 20 years and Phoenix uses the same amount of water as it did 20 years ago, despite a population increase of 400,000.  Other Arizona cities should follow Phoenix’s lead to store and conserve water so that they are prepared if the Colorado River dries up.

3. All states need to limit infrastructure, agricultural, and population growth.

While conservation efforts are great, if the Southwest continues to expand cities, intensify agricultural production, and increase population, the region will see no progress in securing its water future.  If Southwest states continue to grow in every way imaginable, water demand will continue to rise, and conservation efforts will be negated.  To truly secure a better water future, states need to limit all forms of growth so that conservation measures can actually save water for the future.  While this raises difficult practical and ethical questions, if the Southwest is to move forward, it cannot continue to unsustainably build bigger cities, welcome more people, and increase agriculture production.

Conclusion

By any measure, transporting water from the Great Lakes to the American Southwest is far from a sensible solution to the western water crisis.  Any type of “Great Lakes Project” should only be considered as a last resort if all other options fail and the lives of millions are suddenly at stake.  Instead, Southwest states must take a variety of conservation and preventative actions today to ensure their water future and make sure that whenever someone turns on a faucet, water still flows.

How to Help: The Importance of Water Conservation

Whether you live on the Great Lakes in Michigan, in the desert in Arizona, or anywhere in between, limiting water consumption is vital for the future of all of us.  

Check out 100+ Ways to Conserve Water and 45+ Ways to Conserve Water for countless actions actions anyone can take to conserve water every day.

Bibliography 

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“Facts and Figures about the Great Lakes.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 4 Apr. 2019, www.epa.gov/greatlakes/facts-and-figures-about-great-lakes.

Jim Robbins / Photography by Ted Wood • February 7, et al. “In Era of Drought, Phoenix Prepares for a Future Without Colorado River Water.” Yale E360, e360.yale.edu/features/how-phoenix-is-preparing-for-a-future-without-colorado-river-water.

Matheny, Keith. “Great Lakes Water Piped to Southwest 'Our Future,' Says NASA Scientist.” Detroit Free Press, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2017, www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/04/10/great-lakes-water-piped-southwest-our-future-says-nasa-scientist/100301326/.

Milly, P. C. D., and K. A. Dunne. “Colorado River Flow Dwindles as Warming-Driven Loss of Reflective Snow Energizes Evaporation.” Science, vol. 367, no. 6483, 2020, pp. 1252–1255., doi:10.1126/science.aay9187.

Way, Ron. “The Great Siphoning: Drought-Stricken Areas Eye the Great Lakes.” Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 25 May 2018, www.startribune.com/the-great-siphoning-drought-stricken-areas-eye-the-great-lakes/483743681/?refresh=true.

Williams, A. Park, et al. “Large Contribution from Anthropogenic Warming to an Emerging North American Megadrought.” Science, vol. 368, no. 6488, 2020, pp. 314–318., doi:10.1126/science.aaz9600.