Western Wisconsin really got nailed by heavy rains over the weekend. La Crosse got over five inches of rain in 24 hours. That kind of rain used to be associated with subtropical states like Florida. I don't remember Wisconsin getting those kinds of torrential rains before the summer of 2007. Since then, we've gotten them almost every year (with the exception of 2009, if I recall correctly). Gays Mills has finally taken the hint and is looking into relocating to higher ground.
We are extremely fortunate not to face the serious river flooding that many other Midwestern states have suffered this Spring. It's too bad we can't build some kind of giant storm sewer system to divert all that surplus water to the parched western states. Too expensive to get it across the Rockies, I'm sure.
Monday, June 20, 2011
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5 comments:
Had rain like that in 1993 too.
Sending water through a pipeline to the west would require pumping it uphill since those states are at higher elevations than Wisconsin.
We would gladly take your water, just get it to the Colorado River, somehow.
They probably get a pipeline going, but it would be pretty expensive. But this is could be one of those shovel ready projects Obama talks about.
Of course, metro Milwaukee got bombed by 18 inches of rain -- nearly half of it in an hour, last July. We just got bombed again yesterday by 2-3 inches in one hour. Not so horrible, but still reason to begin building more water retention projects and replacing leaky storm sewers that allow sewer backups. It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.
> Sending water through a pipeline to the west would require pumping it uphill since those states are at higher elevations than Wisconsin.
If it comes from the Mississipi River or Great Lakes watershed, the water would, or in the former case, might, have to be returned, by current federal and international law. The City of Waukesha, Wisconsin, lies just outside the Lake Michigan watershed, wants lake water to replace radium-contaminated water in its well system, and will have to spend many millions of dollars building 20-mile, two-way pipelines, because treated effluent must be returned to the watershe). And Canada and other states bordering the Great Lakes can veto the diversion.
Spoil sport.
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