On 5/20/2015 2:02 PM, songbird wrote [in part]:


the large CWP uses huge pumps to move water from the
north to the south which also uses a lot of electricity
(some which they regain on the other side from generation
but the cost is still high). this is only a small fraction
of the water used in CA for irrigation.

to move a much larger portion of the Columbia would need
many more pipelines than one. that's not a minor expense
for pumping, materials to build it, maintenance, etc.

The California State Water Project is possibly the largest customer for
electricity in the state.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary