As water supply shrinks, MWD guards against earthquake leaks
As drought, global warming and chronic overuse push the Colorado River to perilous new lows, water officials are hoping to prevent an earthquake from severing a critical Depression-era aqueduct that now connects millions of Southern Californians to the shrinking river. Recently, officials from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California celebrated as crews lowered a section of earthquake-resistant pipeline into a portion of the Colorado River aqueduct — the 242-mile system of pumps, tunnels, pipelines and open canals that carry water from Lake Havasu to Southern California…. But experts say the project also underscores the plethora of potential catastrophes the state’s water managers must consider on a near-daily basis as the system grows older and more vulnerable to rapid change.