Water, Abundant Yet Scarce: A Solution

We are a nation of pipelines, piping millions of gallons of mostly hazardous oil and liquefied natural gas throughout our country. Here's a thought, why not our most valuable resource, Water? Although I claim no engineering expertise, I envision a vast system of pipelines (cement and otherwise) traversing our nation moving vast quantities of this precious fluid from areas of plenty to areas of need. Imagine opening intake valves situated along swollen rivers, modestly reducing the height of potentially devastating flood-waters and transporting it to water-starved regions of our country.

After the initial expense, which by-the-way, would employ thousands of construction workers throughout many states, I envision billions of gallons of water being transported virtually cost-free utilizing a system of solar and wind technologies powering those pumps necessary for moving the water. I envision, when conditions warrant it, moving water into storage in a series of natural (caverns, lakes) and man-made (dams & lakes) ready for release when needed by water-starved communities.

Certainly now with the effects of Global Warming adversely affecting so many of our western communities, with the promise of worse to come, we should undertake this worthy and necessary national project. We are a nation of grand ideas and great projects undertaken and accomplished throughout our history. We opened the Great Lakes to navigation, the Intracoastal Waterway, a national highway system, and a railroad that traversed our continent, why not something simple and mundane like anther system of pipelines, this one dedicated to the flow of water.

And as an added bonus, we could turn deserts into forests; thereby reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses choking our planet.