Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
move water from one location to another when there are economic
incentives. “I think similar projects will increase over the years as we
continue to put demands on water supplies that are, in many cases,
already fully appropriated,” Tuthill adds.
In a state like Idaho, however, drawing down an aquifer to the
point that it “changes the character of the economic capabilities
of a basin” is prohibited by law, says Tuthill. “Drying up an Owens
Valley, as happened in California, is not allowed by statutes. It's an
expression of a limitation on a transbasin transfer.”
Capitalizing on Water Rights II.
Another company with water to
sell—“nearly two billion gallons fi ltered through rock into this
quarry and protected by more than 400 surrounding acres” in
upstate South Carolina—is Carroll Properties Corporation. The
company is helmed by noted social entrepreneur Elizabeth C.
Belenchia, who has been involved with United Nations and environ-
ment and sustainability projects around the world. The price for the
property, water included, is $29.5 million, though the property own-
ers are considering other options, including, says Belenchia, sale
of the water separately to other entities. (Check it out at http://
clearwaterofcherokee.com/.)
Stay tuned for more water-conscious business ventures in the
future. As urban sustainability expert Williams suggested in
Chapter 3, water is the limit to growth.
Et Cetera
As the price of water increases, experts expect to see new and
unusual schemes for buying, selling, and transporting it—selling
water to China, towing icebergs from Alaska, and piping water great
distances from the haves to the have-nots. Mumme recalls one pro-
posal for the city of San Diego that involved fl oating trains of water
bladders (giant rubber-type balloons) from Alaska down the Pacifi c
Coast and then anchoring them off San Diego. An engineering
fi rm designed an entire fl eet to do the deed, says Mumme. “What
seemed like preposterous proposals will resurface now because of
the issues related to climate change and water scarcity,” he says,
“particularly some focused . . . on urban needs for water.”