1 min read
Sources:
press and public records, Kevin's account
["default","default","rose"]
Short answer
He said at the August 2021 debate that it sounded outlandish, and water experts broadly treat interstate pipeline proposals as pipe dreams: tens of billions in cost, enormous energy use, and not enough water to solve the problem. No engineering review was ever done of his version because it was a debate proposal, not a bill. His broader water point, that the state needs more storage and flow, he still argues, citing reservoirs found short during the Palisades fire. 123
Proposed: Aug 25, 2021 (at the KCRA debate)
His own word: "Outlandish" (said as he proposed it)
Expert view: "Pipe dream" (of interstate pipelines generally)
What was proposed
At the August 25, 2021 debate Kevin floated a pipeline from the Mississippi River to the Colorado River, prefacing it with the acknowledgment that it sounded outlandish. 1
How it holds up
Interstate water pipelines are a recurring proposal in the arid West and are generally dismissed by water experts as magical thinking: costs in the tens of billions, vast pumping energy over mountains, interstate and federal water-rights obstacles, and volumes too small to change the regional balance. No critique was aimed at Kevin’s version specifically, because it never advanced beyond a debate line. 2
What he still argues
Kevin’s account
I argued more water flow was critical. During the Palisades fire, reservoirs were found lacking water. I believe some of my policies could have helped prevent loss of life. 3
Storage and flow are a mainstream argument. The pipeline was the attention-getting version of it, and he labeled it as such on the night.
He called it outlandish himself, and the experts agree about that kind of idea. The narrower point, more storage, is the one he still makes. 123
Simply put
✅ What he said
➡️ Pipe water from the Mississippi to the Colorado. He admitted it sounded crazy.
✅ What experts say
➡️ Such pipelines would cost tens of billions and would not fix the shortage.
✅ What survives
➡️ California needs more water storage. He points to the Palisades fire.
Sources
Lookout Santa Cruz, August 2021 (debate coverage; the Mississippi-to-Colorado pipeline; "now this sounds outlandish"), Open
Rose Law Group Reporter, May 2021 (water experts on interstate pipeline proposals), Open
Kevin's account, What I still believe from the platform: “During the Palisades fire, reservoirs were found lacking water” Read the excerpt
