The West is dry, and we didn't plan well enough. We need a system to move water from Midwest

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Dead and desiccated fish arranged by a visitor to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area stick out of cracked mud Tuesday, June 28, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. The area, once under the waters of Lake Mead, dried up as water levels dropped.
Dead and desiccated fish arranged by a visitor to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area stick out of cracked mud Tuesday, June 28, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. The area, once under the waters of Lake Mead, dried up as water levels dropped.

In response to the various letters on pumping water from the Mississippi River to the West: As an engineer, I believe a large pipeline from near the mouth of the Mississippi would be expensive, but sustainable. A month of average flow from the Mississippi would fill every empty reservoir on the Colorado River.

A smaller and less expensive system would use the existing reservoirs and hydroelectric dams on the rivers that cross Midwest on their way to the Mississippi.  Install pumps at each reservoir that pump water up to the one above it. At the most upstream reservoir, pump it up over the Rockies to the Colorado River. This last leg would require the construction of a pipeline of 200 miles from eastern Colorado to western Colorado and an elevation change of only a few thousand feet.

What is clear is that the West is dry, and we need solutions that ensure we will have the water we need not only in 2023, but in 2300. The current reservoir system has served the West for over 100 years, but the lack of planning and forethought for a sustainable future is obviously an error.  There are too many plausible solutions to endure mandatory conservation.

 David B. Clark, Las Vegas

It's hot out there, mind your pet's paws!

Crystal Vandenberg and her dog, Pepito, in Palm Springs, Calif., on July 10, 2022.
Crystal Vandenberg and her dog, Pepito, in Palm Springs, Calif., on July 10, 2022.

I was at Ralphs at Sunrise Way and Ramon Road in Palm Springs last week when I saw Crystal Vandenberg and her dog, Pepito.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this special owner — note the booties her pet is sporting!

She cares enough about the hot pavement to protect her pet's paws.

They say if it's too hot for you to touch the cement, then it's too hot for your pet's paws.

Catherine Chick, Palm Springs

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: The West is dry. We didn't plan well enough. We need Midwest water