Nawapa Water Diversion Plan: 1960s scheme sought to reroute northern rivers

The North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA) was an infrastructure plan by the Ralph M. Parsons Corporation in 1964.

It proposed capturing excess river water from Alaska and northwestern Canada and sending it south through the Rocky Mountain Trench to water-scarce regions in the U.S. and northern Mexico.

The plan included 369 construction projects, such as a massive reservoir in the Rocky Mountain Trench that would stretch hundreds of miles when full.

The scheme was seriously discussed in the U.S. Congress as a project comparable in scale to the space programme.

NAWAPA never left the drawing board but still influences conversations about water scarcity today.