Background
The Senate recently approved a bipartisan 1-trillion infrastructure bill that earmarked 8.3 billion for water projects in the drought-stricken West. Assuming the House concurs and the President signs it into law, the bill will appropriate 1.15 billion for improving water storage, transport infrastructure and projects to replenish aquifers, 1 billion to recycle wastewater for residential and industrial use, 300 million for conservation and storage projects to maintain levels at the Colorado River’s reservoirs and prevent future water cuts, 250 million for desalination-related studies and projects, 800 million to improve and repair dams, and 1 billion to repair water treatment facilities and infrastructure in rural areas.

Putting Things in Perspective
The bill intends to bring some measure of relief in coming years to the vast expanse from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from border to border. Notably though, it fails to address the impending catastrophe that will befall the Great Plains states as the Ogallala Aquifer runs dry in the next 10 to 30 years. This fossil water has been there for at least three million years. If completely drained, by some estimates it would take more than 6,000 years to refill naturally, climate change permitting. Today the aquifer is being depleted at an annual volume equal to 18 Colorado Rivers. In parts of southern Kansas groundwater level has already dropped 150 feet or more, forcing many farmers to abandon their wells. To be sure, some are doing what they can, but even so in most areas nature simply cannot keep up with human demand. This is analogous to a savings account. If withdrawals exceed deposits then sooner or later there will be nothing left. The impact of the Ogallala’s eventual depletion cannot be overstated. More than 90 percent of the water pumped is used to irrigate a region that supplies at least one fifth of the total U.S. agriculture harvest.

In view of the size and importance of this vast region, 8.3 billion is absurdly inadequate. But it’s understandable. Our perennial budget deficits, the 28.5 trillion (and counting) federal debt, tensions with China, Russia and Iran, a new arms race, mounting natural disasters, and countless additional pressing priorities severely constrain the government’s ability to give this issue the importance it deserves.

There’s no alternative: a completely new source of freshwater is needed to replace those 18 Colorado Rivers, and ultimately it must come from the ocean. While it might seem nothing short of preposterous to even think about doing something like that in the middle of the continent, it is in fact not so. Plan A, which envisions using gravity in the nearby Rocky Mountains as an integral part of the scheme, makes the project feasible and profitable. Still, it would take creative financing and years to see it through. In terms of politics, it’s worth noting that whichever Party gets credit for replacing the Ogallala’s water might win and keep as many as 16 Senate seats for a long, long time.