Record rainfall swamps Southwest

poweRob said:

Next up... West Nile outbreak in AZ.

Thanks for the pics. Awesome shots.

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Thanks. Turned out well for my cellphone. Kind of wish we'd taken our good camera.

And yeah... I was kind of thinking that when seeing kids play in it. But I'd wager the water is a lot safer than the actual swamp water that so many people swim in.

poweRob said:

lol... a little. I love green. It was the hardest adaptation of moving from the swamps to the desert. Missing the green. The first year I moved to AZ South Mountain got soooooo green over the winter rain. It was awesome. The rest of the 12 years I was there it never got that green again.

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Rob, here's some footage from the Rillito in Tucson. Remember, 12 months of the year it's usually dry.

And as I go to bed it starts to rain again.

beefheart said:

Moringa grows so fast, I have to cut 2 feet off the top every few weeks. The leaves are among the highest in vitamins and iron, you can eat them, dry them and take them as pills, etc. They have been planting them in drought areas in Africa, they don't need much to grow, and you can use all of the plant. Amazing thing.

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That's really cool

azgreg said:

Rob, here's some footage from the Rillito in Tucson. Remember, 12 months of the year it's usually dry.

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That is impressive. I live on an arroyo here in nm and its a lot wider than that and when it rains it gets scary like that. Not quite that roaring but seriously dangerous similar to that. If I remember when I get home I'll try to snap a pic of it.

Funny, here, it rained for maybe 45 minutes or so, never that hard, then it stopped and was sunny for the rest of the day.

Yet no "strategy" from this congress in dealing with the infrastructure needed to protect from flash floods
and save this precious water in the Southwest .

poweRob said:

Record rainfall swamps Southwest

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport recorded 3.29 inches of rain, which broke the all-time calendar day record total of 2.91 inches, the National Weather Service reported.​

3.29 freegin inches drowned phoenix. 3.29... unreal.

I lived in phoenix for 12 years but I grew up in south Georgia where there is more rainfall there per year than they get in Seattle. Talk about a culture shock when I moved there. Can't believe 3.29 inches did this to Phoenix. No drainage and it's also a valley so the rainfall on the mountains run down and fill the bowl.

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Other parts of the country have stuff called "soil". Out here we have "caliche". Water will drain but it's a whole lot slower than in soil. Phoenix has the additional issue of being about 90% paved. Any water has to run off the pavement before it can even start to drain.

I've thought about a kick ass massive public works project that mimicked phoenix's canal systems that would alleviate flood pressures in the mid west and divert a bunch to the southwest when there is flood danger in the mid west. It'd be a massive project and some literal uphill climbing of water but I think implementing some of that ingenious dutch technology of land reclamation from the sea we could do this.

NIMBY said:

Yet no "strategy" from this congress in dealing with the infrastructure needed to protect from flash floods
and save this precious water in the Southwest .

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poweRob said:

That's really cool

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I just cut a bunch off the top. You have to, otherwise you get a spindly tree. When you cut the top, it explodes with new branches everywhere and becomes more bush like.

poweRob said:

I've thought about a kick ass massive public works project that mimicked phoenix's canal systems that would alleviate flood pressures in the mid west and divert a bunch to the southwest when there is flood danger in the mid west. It'd be a massive project and some literal uphill climbing of water but I think implementing some of that ingenious dutch technology of land reclamation from the sea we could do this.

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I'm currently working on one with that dreaded government--for 50 states.
But infrastructure has become a dirty word with this congress, something that has NEVER happened before.

At least now, the other folks can start to think about this every time we have a natural flash-flood disaster.
In the case of Phoenix, it's a simple system to Lake Mead/Lake Powell that can be reversed with floods and drought.

Without a public outcry, nothing will get through this House, where this stuff originates .

poweRob said:

I've thought about a kick ass massive public works project that mimicked phoenix's canal systems that would alleviate flood pressures in the mid west and divert a bunch to the southwest when there is flood danger in the mid west. It'd be a massive project and some literal uphill climbing of water but I think implementing some of that ingenious dutch technology of land reclamation from the sea we could do this.

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This storm hit us so hard and so fast that the canal system never had a chance.

You are most certainly correct that existing infrastructure did not have a chance.
Neither would proposed advanced infrastructure, though it would have saved a % of the water for transport and alleviated some of the flooding.

azgreg said:

This storm hit us so hard and so fast that the canal system never had a chance.

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I'm sure you're aware of water-proof lining we see on Interstates for erosion.
Imagine this waterproof lining in the ditches between Interstate 17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff--and then along I-40 to Lake Mead.
I put this out there now because I'm working on it in RL and won't live forever, especially at 60-YOA.

Imagine your flood right now.
Now look at the Archimedes screw--a genius invention over 2,000 years ago that raises water from a lower level to a higher level.
And that these Archimedes screws could actually be mobile intrastate and interstate.

These Archimedes screws could be at work right now draining your floods into canals which could then be pumping water upwill.

All that is needed is energy pumps that are easy--not to mention we have Hoover Dam very close.
We have many other energies available--energy is not the problem.
Nor is water pipeline technology--available right now from oil pipelines.

My experience in the Southwest has shown me that Utah is a shining example of public/private ventures.
I fully support this idea and believe former Utah governors such as Huntsman would be invaluable .

azgreg said:

This storm hit us so hard and so fast that the canal system never had a chance.

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It wouldn't solve every flood but I was mostly thinking FROM the Midwest to the dryer southwest when the Mississippi and its tributaries get to near overflow status then we could use a diversion project to help there.