2 ms·

This doesn't sound right. The pipeline would be longer than the Alaska Pipeline, but carry a commodity that retails for 3 2-3 cents per gallon, not $3.50.

tablespoon 5y ago
> This doesn't sound right. The pipeline would be longer than the Alaska Pipeline, but carry a commodity that retails for 3 2-3 cents per gallon, not $3.50. That's a gasoline price, but don't they typically pump crude through pipelines? So more like $1.50 a gallon, based on my calculations. I suppose if they built such a pipeline, they'd have to charge a lot more than 2-3 a gallon for the water. Though as a project, it seems less ambitious than this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Transfer_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Tran.... Edit: I wonder if this was the (defunct) North American plan that was being referred to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power....
- dehrmann 5y ago
  You're right on the price, but I compared retail to retail since there isn't really something like a barrel of crude water.
ashtonkem 5y ago
How much of the cost of an oil pipeline is tied up in fighting opposition to it getting made and mitigation against the catastrophic effects of leaking oil? Surely a water pipeline would be cheaper to build, given the lower risks involved and the obvious benefits to everyone living near its path.
tharkun__ 5y ago
I didn't know before trying to find online sources for what I remember hearing on the radio. But apparently there were/are some pretty crazy schemes people thought up out there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Pow... (this is old stuff, what I remember from the radio was pre-pandemic drive to the office radio reporting of recent events at the time)

tablespoon 5y ago

> This doesn't sound right. The pipeline would be longer than the Alaska Pipeline, but carry a commodity that retails for 3 2-3 cents per gallon, not $3.50. That's a gasoline price, but don't they typically pump crude through pipelines? So more like $1.50 a gallon, based on my calculations. I suppose if they built such a pipeline, they'd have to charge a lot more than 2-3 a gallon for the water. Though as a project, it seems less ambitious than this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Transfer_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South%E2%80%93North_Water_Tran.... Edit: I wonder if this was the (defunct) North American plan that was being referred to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power....

dehrmann 5y ago
You're right on the price, but I compared retail to retail since there isn't really something like a barrel of crude water.

ashtonkem 5y ago

How much of the cost of an oil pipeline is tied up in fighting opposition to it getting made and mitigation against the catastrophic effects of leaking oil? Surely a water pipeline would be cheaper to build, given the lower risks involved and the obvious benefits to everyone living near its path.

tharkun__ 5y ago

I didn't know before trying to find online sources for what I remember hearing on the radio. But apparently there were/are some pretty crazy schemes people thought up out there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Pow... (this is old stuff, what I remember from the radio was pre-pandemic drive to the office radio reporting of recent events at the time)