Comments on: Fresh water under the ocean

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:22:40 +0000

Paul S. Hope that works for the jumping carp, too.

By: Paul S.

Paul S. — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 15:12:28 +0000

I’m in Chicago and our drinking water comes from Lake Michigan. It did take the reversing of the flow of the Chicago river to prevent sewage from contaminating it, which was done around 1900.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 19:25:37 +0000

Tina.
I live on the shore of Lake Michigan and, no, it’s ours.
One problem is that the Great Lakes Basin is a basin. Most of the places the water needs to go are higher. Raising a pint of water a foot takes a foot-pound of energy, then there’s the friction.
Due to farming and development within maybe ten miles of the shore, out aquifers are being depleted. Turns out that, despite the enormous hydraulic pressure of the lakes, it takes about three years for water to get through the aquifer rock formations to ten or so miles inland.
But we have lots of rivers which should handle everything but farming. Those folks may have to wait for rain. Our total precip from year to year isn’t small, but it can be irregular.
One of my public services is to water my lawn during a dry spell, which has about a 93% chance of causing substantial rainfall. I’m just that kind of guy.

Most hydro uses a reservoir–frequently also used for nearby cities–to control the flow of a river in order to control the flow through the dam and other facilities. To do the same with tides would require a huge tidal pool, so to speak, taking water in at high tide until it is higher than the ambient water level so it can flow out through the generators. Or you could have the generators in the tide flow which would vary according to the tide at the moment.
Not a simple procedure.

By: Tina848

Tina848 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:52:17 +0000

Aren’t the Great Lakes the largest reserve of fresh water. All we need is a piping system to get it where we need it.

By: JohnTyler

JohnTyler — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:41:26 +0000

“……formed during the last ice age…..”

I wonder what sort of SUVs, coal fired plants, industrial facilities, the use of natural gas, and human activity in general, etc., caused the global warming that melted the ice sheets back then and, it appears, left a gigantic aquifer of fresh water to be tapped.

Maybe some global warming is a good thing.

By: Tom Grey

Tom Grey — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:48:23 +0000

“Carry the water, remove the water.
Remove the water, from the bottom of the ocean”
https://youtu.be/9Ew1FxWY83g?si=r6_Ud49waGeY9eCt
Talking Heads probably didn’t mean this water,
But the lyrics fit.
Same as it ever was.

There are some big aquifers under the Sahara, too.
Maybe 10k years ago many hippos & crocs. But … climate changed.

By: om

om — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 04:22:36 +0000

Subsidence of the ground (as seen in Las Vegas) is a problem when you deplete an aquifer; withdraw the groundwater at too great a rate. The aquifer collapses, loosing its ability to be recharged to the prior capacity.

By: om

om — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 04:17:14 +0000

He already turned operating systems into …..

By: JackWayne

JackWayne — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 03:11:32 +0000

Don’t be concerned. As soon as a Green group hears about this, we will hear nothing but the Dangers of Subsidence! Quel horreur.

By: huxley

huxley — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 02:09:48 +0000

@TJ: Nukes R UR friend!

Yes, indeedy!

AI is going to force us to substantially increase the grid capacity, as well as another needs. Musk says by 3x. Only one place to go for that much energy now — nukes.
_____________________________

@Rufus T. Firefly: Bill Gates has built a machine to turn feces into potable water:

Singapore is already doing that on a mass scale with their NEWater plants since 2003 at the rate of 200 million US gallons per day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEWater