A provocative article about repurposing existing fuel pipelines to send water to Western states in the US.

Main point:

  • “What if Louisiana transitioned from oil-production (a dying industry, linked to high rates of cancer) to water distribution (linked to life itself)?”
  • “What if the Great Lakes were also hooked up to this transformational water-delivery system?”
Image from Stocknation

More about it:

  • “The eventual demise of the oil and gas industry will also leave a vast array of idle refineries, tank farms, and abandoned off-shore drilling platforms.”
  • “…our [Louisiana, where the authors reside] greatest resource in the foreseeable future may be our access to fresh water.”
  • “We don’t have time for the federal government to design, plan, and approve a national water pipeline.”
  • “…why not repurpose the system of pipes currently distributing fossil fuels, and use it to distribute the fresh water needed to sustain life elsewhere in the country?”

Why it matters:

  • “We’re living in a world of water imbalances, but it’s one that could be righted by reusing existing infrastructure in radical new ways.”
  • “The eventual demise of the oil and gas industry will also leave a vast array of idle refineries, tank farms, and abandoned off-shore drilling platforms (there are about 1,900 operating in the Gulf of Mexico alone). We believe a huge part of this vast system, the continent-spanning distribution system, holds immense promise for our warming and water-starved future, especially for drought-stricken states in the West.”

Some considerations:

What can young people do to prepare?