Robert Kennedy, Jr., recently urged Canadians not to sell or share water with the USA. Nick Lees wrote this article for the 18 January 2008 edition of the Edmonton Journal.
Kennedy and Hollywood gliterati were in Banff to raise funds for the Waterkeeper Alliance. Along with Kennedy were such luminaries as Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Jason Priestly, Christie Brinkley, Daryl Hannah, and Kelsey Grammer.
Here are some excerpts from Lees' article:
"The U.S. southwest is already experiencing a water crisis, with lots of people moving there and development increasing exponentially," said Kennedy. "They have already run out of water.
"If you talk to government officials, everybody says they are looking for Canada to bail them out."
Water from the Colorado River is being routed for development to such places as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
"This is in the short-term interest of a few developers," said Kennedy, who has a master's degree in environmental law.
"It's not a sustainable practice. The Colorado now dies in the Sonoran Desert. It was once a river that fed a great estuary full of fish and migratory birds."
The Waterkeeper model began in New York in the 1960s when commercial and recreational fishermen, concerned about depleted fish stocks and industrial pollution, decided to organize and restore the health of the Hudson River. A major water contamination issue in the Hudson is the PCB contamination by the General Electric Co.
Later, Kennedy was among those who rejuvenated laws that protected environmental rights and helped clean up the Hudson. He and others formed the Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, the year the first chapter appeared in Canada. There are now 171 Waterkeeper chapters on six continents.
Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.
I understand that at meetings such as this hyperbole is often the order of the day; after all, Kennedy was trying to raise money. I question whether the development in the Southwest is "exponential" and I am unsure "everyone" wants Canada to bail the USA out. But he is right - some people are casting their eyes north of the border.
But Kennedy's vent does raise the interesting issue of Canada, which has huge amounts of fresh water. I wasn't going to elaborate on this but I might as well.
I remember Marc Reisner recounting (in the 'Epilogue' of Cadillac Desert) a 21 April 1981 visit to San Francisco by British Columbia premier Bill Bennett to address the Commonwealth Club. He castigated those who wanted to stop building dams. But when asked by a questioner if BC would consider selling some of its water to the USA, he firmly replied "No". Then he added: "But come and see me in twenty years." Looks like we are overdue.
That brings us to the North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA), a plan conceived in the early 1950s by Donald Baker, an engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The plan would divert water from Canada to the USA (see map below). He took his plan to Ralph M. Parsons, head of the Pasadena engineering firm bearing his name, who instantly fell in love with it.
Parsons started the nonprofit NAWAPA Foundation to "spread the Gospel" about NAWAPA.
NAWAPA attracted the interest of some folks in Congress, especially Sen. Frank Moss (D-UT) and Sen. Hiram Fong (R-HI). Even Gov. Tom McCall, Republican governor of Oregon, and Stewart Udall (initially, when he was Secretary of the Interior) were supporters, but the plan eventually fell into disfavor by the late 1970s. However, I have heard talk about "bringing NAWAPA back", just as I have heard people suggest reviving a plan to study the diversion of Columbia River water to the Southwest USA.
Here is an article about NAWAPA by Lyndon H. LaRouche, so you might consider the source as you read it. There is even a Canadian site proclaiming "Why NAWAPA is Necessary". Reisner also has a good discussion of NAWAPA in the 'Epilogue' of Cadillac Desert (the source of much of my NAWAPA information).
As a graduate student at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s I remember some of my professors discussing NAWAPA and the Columbia River scheme, and plans to tap Alaskan water (a component of NAWAPA). In those days it was common for people to say that fresh water flowing into the sea was "wasted"; some people still say that.
Not all Canadians think selling water to the USA is a bad idea. When I was at the University of New Mexico I received a call in the late 1990s from a staffer of Canadian MP Alan Mills, a Conservative who represented Toronto suburbs. She wanted to know if the Southwest USA could use Great Lakes water. "Do fish swim?" I said. She said MP Mills was supportive of such exports and was trying to get the Great Lakes region to agree to them. Dream on, Mr. Mills.
It sure is an interesting time to be in the water business in the western USA - and western Canada.
"Water flows uphill to power and money." -- Unknown
Great insight. I'm willing to give them another chance, generations change and we must be open to it.
Posted by: Studio Azura | Monday, 20 November 2023 at 11:52 PM
I am pleased to see that there are at least some positive comments re NAWAPA. I didn't know those positive views existed. All I have heard about NAWAPA is how horrible it is and how BAD for the environment it would be. But hardly ever a balanced view. If NAWAPA had been built when it was first proposed we would benefit from it today as it would have been completed in the 90s.
One might criticise China in many areas but they would have pushed through such a project and made themselves more prosperous in the process.
Posted by: Werner | Sunday, 05 February 2023 at 05:57 AM
What the hell is everyone going on about> There are literally hundreds of thousands of people living in towns and cities in the Rocky Mountain trench. You can't just evict and destroy/flood hundreds of thousands of peoples' homes, farms and history.
America can build reservoirs on its own land. A lot of the water already flows down there anyway. Just build your reservoirs and dams south of the border.
Posted by: Michelle | Sunday, 05 August 2018 at 06:28 PM
North Americas depleted water resource extends from a criminal occupation of lands belonging to Americans, forcefully taken by Caucasians for Empire. This ongoing criminality makes efficient management of adjustment to unfortunate outcomes for all humans virtually impossible. Central and southern stable and saturated aquifers are now below 5,000 feet under surface (not able to provide surface uptake, desert lands without irrigation). Northern Shield has 70 years of water remaining at present consumption levels. When that goes, Empire goes. We are left with a 10,000 year wait for the aquifers to refill at historical intake levels... however, history no longer applies: its all been turned to desert. NAWAPA was never gone: Keystone is a crude piggyback of water channels. WAY 2 GO EMPIRE! Goodbye. Don't come back.
Posted by: Mark Stewart | Thursday, 08 August 2013 at 08:28 PM
As a Canadian you wonder what the right thing to do is. Canada has the largest supply of water and we won't run out of it any time soon. We can help people and make money to support our system. It seems like a win-win situation to me although many would disagree.
Posted by: Mike | Thursday, 25 October 2012 at 04:34 PM
My understanding of the NAWAPA plan isn't to suck Canada dry of its fresh water sources; instead much water would be diverted from Alaska. Yes there are ecological implications of building aqueducts throughout the continent.
However, I'm betting that the ecological cost of the hydroelectric energy gained and overall water supply boost for all 3 countries involved would be much less harmful than the oil sands projects currently operating in Canada.
Posted by: Heather | Monday, 16 April 2012 at 06:03 PM
Canada could make trillions. More electricity made from hydro power, combined with the additional biomass that could be produced in former desert areas, would reduce global warming. Overall, the project would benefit the environment. And feed the growing world population. Put millions of people to work too.
Posted by: Bill Simpson | Thursday, 22 March 2012 at 10:56 AM
I think this is a good idea and should be implemented. The environmental effects will be little from what I read and Canada would benefit from it as greatly as the US and Mexico. It would be a joint project between Canada, US, and Mexico.
Posted by: Myron | Thursday, 29 September 2011 at 09:08 AM
I am Canadian and I say no !!!!ing way. It would only encourage more waste,damage the environment incredibly and prevent dealing with proper management. Last time I checked Canada was a sovereign nation. It is not part of the USA and does not want to be told what to do. American states that have ample water already prevent water removal to other states and there has been much litigation in the usa over water. Water removal would also mean wholesale removal to the rest of the world. eg. American companies would be exporting water from canada to the rest of the world.This is a recipe for bloody environmental disaster and is just wrong. It would be like an act of war on canada.
Posted by: kerry | Monday, 14 February 2011 at 07:57 PM
What John Carten (below, in 2 posts) is not revealing as part of his conspiracy theory is that he is in fact part of the company (Sun Belt) that he intricately details as having been denied the right to export water from British Columbia in the late 1980's. Mr. Carten is actually crying foul over the lost opportunity for him and his cohorts to make money, and would love for the taps to be turned on in Canada. See their website (sunbeltwater.com) for all the details, including Mr. Carten's letters.
Posted by: Dan Kyle | Tuesday, 12 October 2010 at 02:07 AM
Hi, John.
Thanks for your comment.
How is dying of a heart attack while skiing related to this issue? Was there any evidence of foul play? How did the Canadian government fail to protect him or her?
Posted by: Michael | Wednesday, 17 March 2010 at 11:31 AM
I wish to update my previous comments.
There are now nine sudden judicial deaths linked to this one lawsuit.
Another water export insider died of a heart sudden heart attack while skiing on February 25, 2010.
My prediction is that more will die in the next few months because the Canadian government will not protect them any longer.
Posted by: John Carten | Wednesday, 17 March 2010 at 01:17 AM
If we tried to build the NAWAPA, unemployment wouldn't be a problem for 100 years! China might eventually do something like this with water from Siberia. Get yourself some Caterpillar stock the week BEFORE they announce that is going to be built. No CO2 output once it is finished. I wish I could come back in a couple of hundred years and see if it got built. Growing enough food will be a big problem by then.
Posted by: Bill Simpson | Sunday, 17 January 2010 at 11:38 PM
Canada's protectionist water export policies emerged from a fraudulent conspiracy by a gruop of swindlers and political insiders connected to the Vancovuer and Toronto stock exchanges.
Canadian politicians have lied and cheated on this issue for three decades
Visit http://www.waterwarcrimes.com
Two Canadian citizens and their families were put under surveillance, targeted and terrorized by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia because they were helping the American company, Sun Belt Water Inc. and its investors, who were the victims of fraud by Canadian Governments, in a lawsuit that threatened to expose a criminal conspiracy that took place at the highest levels of government in Canada by insiders who had expected to profit from a monopoly over bulk water exports from Canada to the United States.
Their story, "Caught in the Crossfire", is a chilling reminder that politicians and insiders with Canadian governments will use the judiciary, the courts, private law firms, and the bureaucracy to target and attempt to destroy private citizens when they deem it in their personal interests to do so.
A newspaper editor in Vancouver stated, "This is the most explosive scandal in the political history of Canada".
There are seven sudden judicial deaths linked to this case.
ln the case of each judge, there was motive for murder.
Two Canadian Prime Ministers were forced out of office by this case.
Prime Minister Paul Martin ran out of the back door of the Delta Grand Hotel.
One BC Premier, Glen Clark, was forced out of Office by this case.
One Chief Justice of Canada, Antonio Lamer, resigned over this case.
Two BC Chief Justices resigned over this case.
Internal BC Government Documents prove BC Government broke international treaties, willingly and intentionally.
Scores of bureaucrats lost their jobs as a result of this case.
There is a Canadian media black out on this case.
The Canadian and BC Governments are afraid of this case.
The RCMP refused to investigate the offshore accounts linked to this case.
The BC Government and eight government lawyers involved in perjury and fraud on the court are defendants in this case.
The RCMP refused to investigate allegations of perjury by BC Government lawyers.
RCMP inspector acknowledged the operation of a judicial mafia in Canada.
The BC Government brought a bogus criminal prosecution against Mr. Carten because of this case.
The Canadian Federal Court has stalled this case for over 16 months.
The Canadian Federal Court will not permit a judge to hear this case.
The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal
rejected our request for a judge to hear this case.
The Canadian and BC Government do not want an independent judge hearing this case and asked the government controlled court to dismiss this case without a hearing.
The documentary film "Captured Rain" was based on many of the facts in this case.
The Canadian political fiction H2O by director Paul Gross appears to be based in the facts behind this case.
Learn about the how the game is played in Ottawa and Victoria
Http://www.waterwarcrimes.com
Posted by: John Carten | Saturday, 24 October 2009 at 06:12 PM
Hooray It's done! Thanks to all the engineers politicians and regular people who helped get this done.
Too bad the water treatment plant in Albuquerque was just the end of the Project. Now let's start on the beginning. The San Juan and Colorado river diversions and the (CAP) Central Arizona Project were only part of the original (NAWAPA) North American Water and Power Alliance, started back in the sixty's. This vision for sustainability was visionary back then and needed even more now.
Ever since the US Supreme court 1982 decision in a case between El Paso, Texas and the State of New Mexico, in which the Supreme Court ruled that water is an article of commerce, the flood gates of corporate greed have advanced the full scale erosion of water as a right in the west, and in our country and world as a whole.
I lived in New Mexico until I was twenty, and never really realized how much water there is on this continent until I did a lot of travel. In the US, about 70 percent of the water pumped out of the ground is for agriculture use and is running low. I did my gardening in NM with fossil water pumped out of the ground in the Rio Grande valley. There is a long tradition of water "wars" in New Mexico. If you like water movies, get a copy of the 'THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR', or See the movie FLOW,
I now spend most of my time on an organic farm up in the Midwest, or Arkansas in the winter. Last year in the summer/fall I saw flooding in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest, in January flooding in Arkansas and the mid-south, and then again this spring, flooding on the Mississippi all the way from Wisconsin and Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of this water ended up flooding out and destroying farms or towns all the way. Polluting the Gulf of Mexico and adding to the problem of the 20,000 square kilometer hypoxic dead zone. We do not have any lack of fresh water on the North American continent. What we have is a lack of water-use and transport infrastructure.
Here is the beginning of the plan. We put hydroelectric plants on every stream, river or spring big enough to run a micro hydro system. Water is the largest form of renewable distilled solar energy we have. These would all feed into the power grid. These are hooked up to a water transport system that is powered by this electricity. When we know that floods are coming, these systems are turned on by hand or automatically, and the water is pumped to the places in the country where it is dry at the time. The water can be used several times to produce electricity on the way to where it is eventually used.
If the people in the car industry go down in smoke, we can put some of those factories that already make generators, bearings, shafts, and other needed items to work making several sizes of hydro systems for small streams to large systems on the great rivers. This power can also power cars!
Most of these systems on private land would be best owned by the people on the land, so the system does not become a giant corporate monopoly like we have now with oil and electricity, and coming soon to a city near you, the water monopoly. Cancel on that thought: don't tell them I said that.
Water must be returned to the status of a natural right and not an article of commerce or the whole world be slaves working for a cup of water!
Water is just the lens that brings into focus the great destruction we have done to our planet. So for every month of the year we drive a car we plant a tree. For every thousand kilowatts of power we use plant a tree. For every cow we eat plant a tree, and don’t forget to water it till it is great BIG.
Michael Pollen talked about the problems of fossil sun for agriculture in the open letter to the President about food security issues. It’s time to talk serious about the issues of fossil water, energy, and water security on our planet.
Power and water to the people right now!
Bill at the Paradigm Change project.
Posted by: William | Sunday, 04 January 2009 at 07:02 AM
Hi, Neil.
Thanks for commenting.
I think what Kennedy means is that for all practical purposes, the Colorado River no longer flows into the Sea of Cortez (aka Gulf of California) because it is so depleted by diversions. So the fishery that used to exist there has been decimated.
I am unsure what you mean by the Colorado actually being the estuary of the Mississippi below New Orleans. It's not. Am I missing something?
Posted by: Michael | Tuesday, 18 November 2008 at 10:30 AM
Would I not be right in thinking that the estuary of the Colorado is actually the estuary of the Mississippi beyond New Orleans?
If so Mr Kennedy's claim that it no longer exists would seem to be dishonest even compared to the normal level of dishonesty of such [politicians & eco-fascists].
The strange thing is that such people get away with the most outrageous & ridiculous untruths without anybody in the media ever calling them on it, or mentioning it next time they assert something.
As for Canada they should certainly charge what the market will bear, like good capitalists, & that may include adding a clause to NAFTA saying they weren't thinking of water at the time. It would be a shame to keep pouring good money down the drain.
Posted by: Neil Craig | Monday, 17 November 2008 at 09:12 AM
Hi, Johnnyb.
Thanks for commenting.
Your last sentence says it all. I suspect that moving this much water will substantially impact some Canadian ecosystems. The Canadians will have to decide whether the environmental costs are worth it.
Posted by: Michael | Friday, 04 July 2008 at 05:06 PM
I'm trying to better understand the negative impacts that NAWAPA will have on Canada, and any information that the reader could direct to me would be most useful. From what I can understand the environmental impacts on Canada would not be all that great, and not enough to out weigh the benefits of NAWAPA to humans, not only in the US but also the World as we produce a much greater amount of food than we consume. As I see the Ogallala going drying, and the government seemingly doing nothing but aggravating its demise, I am very fearful of what will happen when the US experiences a drop in its ag output.
Do the environmental benefits of opposing NAWAPA really outweigh the human costs in terms of a potential mass starvation?
Posted by: Johnnyb | Sunday, 22 June 2008 at 12:49 AM
One of the reasons that I submitting a comment for public view is that I wrote an essay as a submission to my college english class in the early 80s about NAWAPA. Coupled with that is the recent viewing of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program POLITICS, of the 18th of this month (yesterday)in which one of the topics was the NAFTA and the possibility of large bulk water transfers south to the US. Mr. Lloyd Axeworthy was one of the guests on the program and was heard to say that water would probably be on the table for negotiation for possible future implementation.
For those who don't know Mr. Axeworthy, he was a cabinet minister is in past political administrations filling a number of cabinet posts. He is probably well connected with movers and shakers of the political landscape of present day Canadian politics, but seems to be more of a behind the scenes person today. Needless to say I was a bit disturbed that his comments had the ring of being sold down the river once again by our political servants.
Having water is tantamount to having life. You can't have life on this planet without water. If people want to live in an area where there is little water then conservation, inovation should be imperative for survival.
Moving great amounts of water to those areas may solve the problems of those in the drier locations, but that leaves a deficit of water in those areas that did the supplying. Less water in those areas means huge and possibly catastrophic changes to the flora and fauna.
I have read articles about the costs, the improvements to those areas getting the influx of water, the improvements to growing of crops, the jobs created etc, but nothing about the damage that all these things would create.
For instance, given that the cost of the NAWAPA plan, if it were to go into effect, would be in possibly the trillions of dollars. Wouldn't that same amount of money being put into reverse osmosis plants provide the same relief to the drier areas of the US? This would also aleviate the requirement of destroying huge amounts of natural habitat in areas that would never recover. Habitat that was created over millenia. Habitat that has the possibility of being destroyed because people want to use more water than the area, in which they live, can provide.
The view that this kind of destruction is being contemplated should be viewed with great suspision. The persons in the political and business arenas and those who would promote these ideas are being cavalier in the extreme with the future of the areas of water supply. In this case Canada.
Remember folks we already have proof of what happens to politicians and business persons who make decisions to move large amounts of water from place to place. Southern Russia used to have a great inland sea, a rather large fishing industry and flora and fauna in the area. Now there is a desert.
Yes, I'm Canadian. I swore allegiance to this country and did my service. I find, unfortunately, that it seems I must serve again, if only in a small way, to be a bit of a thinker with respect to the protection of the control of our natural resourses, NAFTA notwithstanding.
Posted by: Mark | Sunday, 20 April 2008 at 10:22 PM
Here's a little backgrounder from an outspoken previous minister in the Canadian Government, Paul Hellyer, for those who are interested: http://tinyurl.com/2d2a7d
http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2008/week11/Friday/031402.html
Posted by: Bob | Friday, 14 March 2008 at 12:15 PM
The issue for Canadians is not that we wouldn't be happy to send the USA some surplus water if it comes to that, we have always had great affection for our neighbours, especially in time of need. It's the draconian NAFTA "national treatment" clause that causes complete loss of sovereignty over our own resources, that needs to first be addressed.
Under NAFTA, if one lone drop of bulk water is sold to the USA, Canada MUST then by law sell water to everyone and anyone. The government of canada has no teeth left and has already been sued successfully by those claiming equal access under NAFTA.
To add further insult to injury, NAFTA demands that an exported commodity can never be slowed down, even in times of domestic shortage!!! In fact, once the process of water exportation begins, just like our Natural Gas and Oil, water becomes a tradeable commodity, under the control of the marketplace, usually private companies hell bent on profit for shareholders, while Canada reaps paltry royalties and has no say in regulating quantities or controls.
Canadians have been hoodwinked into a deal that enables complete foreign control and dominance of our resources and the worst part about it is, our own politicians sold us down this NAFTA river in the name of free and fair trade.
While I would never underestimate the power of mass conditioning to force the Canadian people to acquiesce (it worked well to get us into NAFTA), I suspect, as more NAFTA stranglehold facts are exposed to the common citizen, there will be growing resistance to giving up control of Canadian bulk water exports.
Posted by: Bob | Thursday, 13 March 2008 at 11:40 AM
Hi, Leif.
You may be right about the equality of fresh water resources, but Canada has 10% of the USA's population.
Posted by: Michael | Monday, 10 March 2008 at 07:43 AM
First of all, great blog, it's nice to get such a wide range of information in one place.
However, I think saying that Canada has "huge amounts of freshwater" is a bit misleading. While it's true that Canada's lake and wetlands do contain lots of water, it's not replenished very quickly (evaporation rates in the Arctic are pretty low). Canada has the same amount of renewable fresh water resources as the United States, and many of the same water related problems.
Posted by: Leif Nelson | Sunday, 09 March 2008 at 08:45 PM
NAWAPA is back for sane people all the time. As for the Kennedy family, they have gone bad, with their banking of Fascist stars like Schwartznegger, and the confused Mr. Obama.
Posted by: Howardgis1 | Sunday, 27 January 2008 at 06:48 PM