Colorado's Big Straw

Is Colorado's plan to pipe its river water back over the Rocky Mountains to support new communities audacious or absurd?

1 minute read

July 13, 2003, 11:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Nicknamed the "Big Straw," it is a big, old-fashioned kind of idea, reminiscent of the mega-water projects that greened the West in the 20th century. Estimates of its cost start at $2.5 billion and climb. Opponents call it a giant boondoggle in the making that would suck water from some of Utah's most popular rafting spots and deplete flows needed by endangered fish."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Saturday, July 12, 2003 in The Los Angeles Times

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