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We would need 1,000 construction workers.
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How long will the construction take?
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To build a system bringing water from the mississippi river
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Into the colorado river,
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We estimate, on rough orders of magnitude,
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That it might take approximately 20 years
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To do the full construction.
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Narrator: We know we could build an aqueduct system to bring water
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From one great american river to another
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Using a combination of cutting-edge pumping
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And monitoring technologyand good, old-fashioned gravity.
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Narrator: Once we have all the approvals we need,
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And if the central arizona project is any indication,
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It would take 5 to 10 times as long to build
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An aqueduct system today as in ancient times.
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We're talking 20 years for the construction alone,
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Which leaves us treading water as we face
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The toughest question of all --
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What's it all going to cost?
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Narrator:The water system of ancient rome is still revered by engineers
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2,000 years after it was first constructed.
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A recently discovered portion of the aqueducts
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It took more than 40 years just to get through the legal
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Are developed through the knowledge base
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That's acquired over many years of study.
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And some of those dateall the way back to early times.
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Narrator: Now that we know the where and the how
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And the who of a modern take on our aqueduct project,
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The next big question is, how long is it going to take?
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It turns out the romans had a big advantage
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When it came to time, too.
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Fast forward 2,000 years,
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And the politics is a little more complicated.
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Is even part of a sound-and-light show
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And political complications of acquiring the land
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For the central arizona project.
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There were lawsuits.
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There were legal challenges.
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There was a supreme court case.
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Ochsendorf: Water resourcescross national boundaries today.
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In ancient rome, the roman empire stretched so far
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That roman builders could draw upon a water supply
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Hundreds of miles away
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To provide consistent water for the city of rome.
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If one was replacing the canal that's in the ground today.
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The water was also used to flush toilets.
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The water was not wasted.
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Narrator: In the time of the emperors,
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Getting money was as easy as turning on a tap.
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But how much did the central arizona project cost?
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It was roughly $4 billion over that 20-year period
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From 1973 to 1993.
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About half of that money was for things like purchasing land,
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Issuing permits, what we'll call soft costs.
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It wouldn't have to be repeated
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Which displayed a dominion over water,
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Narrator:And there's one more budget item we haven't even included yet.
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In 20 years, we probably have spent easily
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Double the cost of the canal to build it
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In maintaining it since then,
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And it's supposed to last for another 100 years.
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Narrator: Okay, let's do the math.
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The original cost of $4 billion
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Plus four times the original cost in maintenance --
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That's $16 billion.
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Plus five times
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And we're relying on the brawn and brains
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In this new shopping mall in rome.
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Our mission is to figure out what it would take to build
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An even more impressive water delivery system
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In america today.
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We want to build all the way from the great mississippi
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To the mighty colorado
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In order to bring clean waterto the parched state of arizona.
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♪
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We intend to use concrete, electrical power,
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And the latest digital and fiber-optic technology.
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And all of those disciplines
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Of thousands of american workers.
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But are we about to be swept away in a flood of debt?
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If there's one things the romans were better
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At than building smart, it was spending smart.
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Ochsendorf: Just near here, trajan's aqueduct traveled underground,
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And there was a roman grain mill just in front of me
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That was powered by the waterto grind the grain to feed rome.
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Once the water powered the wheels,
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It could then descend into the center of rome
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Where it provided not only public fountains,
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Narrator: Seems like we might see a big maintenance bill down the road.
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Are much larger in roman concrete,
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Whereas in today's concrete,
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We're only commonly using very small pieces of gravel.
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Narrator: So what did they use in arizona for a ditch
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That was more than 23 feet deep and close to 310 miles long?
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Turns out, it was a bit of a budget mix.
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They recognized that the most expensive component
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Of the concrete was the cement.
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So they specified mixes
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That would reduce the amount of cement.
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That are combined with the ash mixture,
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Concrete will always crack.
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We've had numerous places where we've repaired the aqueduct
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Over the course of years because of poor-quality materials.
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Narrator: We may not have a lot of volcanic ash lying around,
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But we've got some pretty nifty technology
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For our modern aqueduct.
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Still, it seems like we're just keeping our head
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Above water here.
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It's easy to repair the concrete.
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But it's not nearly as easy to understand, anticipate,
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Even those that have come into play since the c.A.P.
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Romans built to last.
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Romans looked for durable materials.
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Narrator: So what would we use today?
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The romans got a lot done with buckets, shovels,
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And rudimentary cranes.
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They even came up with one of the most popular
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Building materials of all time.
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Cooke: The romans are generallycredited for inventing concrete.
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This is something very valuable for us.
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And with all of the modern inventions that we have --
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And be able to repair a lot of the equipment
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Was built, like lasers and computers and gps
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And things like that -- without concrete,
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It would be pretty difficult to do what we did here.
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Ochsendorf: The romans developed concrete
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Using volcanic ash from near mount vesuvius.
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They discovered that a particular ash was reactive,
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Meaning that if it were ground into dust and mixed with water,
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It would set hard and become essentially a liquid stone.
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Roman concrete is quite different from today's concrete
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Because the aggregate, or stones,
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That would be inconceivably expensive today.
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By relying on roman expertise
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And some innovative american technology.
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We'll construct it with concrete,
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Even if we can't duplicate all the ancient ingredients.
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But how many people would we need to build our system?
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2,000 years ago,
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The romans didn't need to hire construction workers
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To build their system of aqueducts.
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Tragically, romans were often using slave labor
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As a cost-effective way to build something
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Narrator: We figure we'll create our bigger, better system
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Narrator: We will definitely be paying our workers,
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And we'll need a lot of them.
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We estimate that it might take 1,000 people
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To do the full construction.
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Narrator: And we figure we'll bring in the specialists
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Who helped design the system in central arizona.
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Francom: It took a number of different type of engineering disciplines
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Together to build it --
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Civil engineers, mechanical engineers,
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And electrical engineers.
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Who've been doing that.
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Associated with the project.
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Narrator: So we'll build our modern-day aqueduct
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With tunnel-boring machines,
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Massive pumping plants, and lots and lots of concrete.
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But, could we be headed for troubled water?
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Narrator: We're imagining how we could build a modern-day system
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To rival the celebrated roman aqueducts.
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We've been taking an up-close look
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At the central arizona project.
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And as it turns out, we're not the only people
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Those maintenance costs over the next century.
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There definitely are places in the world
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Where projects of even larger scale than this
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Are probably appropriate.
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We've had lots of visitors from eastern and central asia,
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Where there are similar types of situations --
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Arid regions where people live and need water --
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In africa and in south america, as well.
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And we have by now two-and-a-half decades
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Of lessons learned of running this project.
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But they never faced the big water problems
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Narrator: And that doesn't include maintenance costs
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And the ongoing cost of finding enough power
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To keep the water flowing.
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It's going to take a tremendous amount of energy
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To lift the water through the pumping plants
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And then put it in the canal,
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So we'd have to look at the existing transmission
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Infrastructure and local power sources to see
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If we could provide power to the canal system.
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Narrator: The ancient romans thought big,
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To construct.
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We're facing today.
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As an engineer, I love the idea
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Of connecting the colorado and mississippi river.
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However, in the long run, it really isn't practical.
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The overall capital cost to construct it,
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The length of the canal being over 1,500 miles,
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Having to pump water over 9,000 feet vertical --
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It would create a water that would be simply too expensive
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For the users of the water to pay.
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Narrator: But, in the united states,
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All the way to the colorado.
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Construction of the canal,
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So actual excavation of the canal,
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Lining the canal with concrete,
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And then, next, we'll be building the pumping plants.
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Narrator: But wait, there's more.
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We're going to crown our water system
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With a fountain in the middle of this desert city,
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So fantastic, it will putthe fountains in vegas to shame.
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We did it!
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We built a waterway from the mississippi river
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You have more than just the will of an emperor.
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We built it out of concrete,moving around natural obstacles,
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And providing an alternate route for wildlife.
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We included the latest in hydraulic, digital,
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And fiber-optic technology.
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It took a thousand workers,
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Using some of the mightiest machines on earth,
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And taking into account all the red tape.
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It took us 20 years.
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So now, brace yourself for a tidal wave of costs.
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It might be in the realm of $50 billion to $80 billion
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Narrator: We hope our new aqueduct is a tribute
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But it will benefit millions.
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Narrator: The romans also placed a value on water
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That was, in some ways, ahead of its time.
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Today, as we think about bringing water to cities,
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There are things we can learn from ancient rome,
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And, above all, I would say how to reuse water
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Over and over again as a precious resource,
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But also as something the public could and should appreciate
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And as something that is absolutely essential
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For a healthy city and for a healthy population.
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You can't predict who will benefit in the future,
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To the engineering geniuses that came before us.
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Because today, we are standing on the shoulders
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Of the giants of ancient rome.
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Cooke: What we often don't stop and think about
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Is that it's our obligation to be the giants
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For the next generation and the next one.
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Narrator: Building publicinfrastructure such as waterways
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Also reminds us that necessity is the mother of invention.
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And when the need is great,great ideas are bound to be born
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If we built it today.
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Narrator: No matter what the economics of the future look like,
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You have the will of an increasingly thirsty public.
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Combine political will with innovative thinking
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And the well of ideas will never run dry.
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Because bringing water from the mississippi river
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Would be so expensive,
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We would first look at local alternatives.
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So we would utilize local groundwater sources
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That might be brackish or have a higher salt content
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And use some form of desalinization or filtration
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To make that water potable.
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The next step would be the physical
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When we reflect on the past,
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We have the romans to thank for their ingenuity...
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Rome could never have arrived at 1 million inhabitants
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Without this perfect water supply.
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...And for their ability to build things that last.
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Ochsendorf: Today, when we makean investment in infrastructure,
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We're often thinking only about the initial cost
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Or the immediate beneficiaries.
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Roman infrastructure shows that,
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If you build it well to last for centuries,
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We are very concerned about it.
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Thelander: Too many times people think that their food
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Comes from the grocery store.
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Food starts at the farm level,
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And you can't always replace food from one area
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By importing it from another.
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Narrator: And the drought in this area is expected to continue.
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Thelander: We're pretty much growing something year-round.
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This water coming in allows us to farm all of our acreage,
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So we've had a good, plentiful supply of water.
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We're concerned about the drought in colorado.
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That gets less than eight inches of rain a year.
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Narrator: And this isn't the only place headed for disaster.
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Cooke: With all the successes that we've had,
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They have not undone the reality of climate change
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And a hotter, dryer future.
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Narrator: By 2025, 2/3 of the people on the planet
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Won't have enough water.
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This is a problem even too big for an emperor.
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Cooke: But there's a huge ocean out there that can be tapped.
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It's more expensive than the source of water
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That we have right now, but at some point,
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And prior to that, it was all groundwater,
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That's another $84 billion
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For a grand total of...
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$104 billion over the planned lifetime
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Of this modern aqueduct system.
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But before you wrap your mind around the colossal costs
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Of building an even bigger system,
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You need to meet someone who might provide some perspective.
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My name is dan thelander.
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I'm an arizona farmer here in the maricopa-stanfield area.
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C.A.P. Started delivering water here in about 1985,
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The economy and the market will straighten that out.
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And the groundwater was beingdepleted at a pretty rapid rate,
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So there were a lot of farms that were being fallowed
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Because of the lack of water.
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So the c.A.P. Coming in here
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Really was the salvation for this area.
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Narrator: Thelander and his family grow cotton
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And wheat plus alfalfa and corn for dairy cattle.
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Thelander: Me and my nephew and my son farm about 5,000 acres.
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We have 15 employees, and so that's what keeps us all going.
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Narrator: But it's not easy in a region
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Who call the land home.
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And we'll look at trying to find an effective and efficient path
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That would minimize the amount of excavation,
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Minimize the number of tunnels going through mountains
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And try to minimize the number of times
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That the canal would have to go up and down.
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Narrator: That's the way they did in rome.
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They worked with, not against, nature.
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Next, we need to buy rights for the land we'll be using,
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And let's not forget --
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We also need to consider our four-legged friends
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Plot a course from a map.
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In some lands, we might be disturbing sensitive land
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And have to do environmental set-asides or other things
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That make sure we don't hamper the natural environment
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Or migration paths of animals.
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Narrator: We'll follow c.A.P.'s lead and build our canals
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So that wildlife would have a special right of way.
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As a matter of fact, it's camouflaged
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So that they can't tell that they're walking above the water
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Because, otherwise, they may be frightened.
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♪
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Bigger than the central arizona project.
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Narrator: We want to do our part to helpsolve the impending water crisis
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By constructing a modern-day water system.
333
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But can we pull together the resources
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And funding we'll need before it's too late?
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Narrator: The romans have built some of the most enduring
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And aesthetically pleasing architecture in the world.
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The ingenuous thinking that went into the roman aqueducts
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Was far ahead of its time.
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But in america, we know how to build big.
340
00:35:35,550 --> 00:35:39,720
So we're imagining the biggest aqueduct ever made...
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From traditional roman construction.
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We're planning to transport billions of liters of water
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00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:52,330
From the mississippi river to the colorado river.
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That's over 1,500 miles,
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Five times as long as the aqueduct system
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That extended across the entire roman empire.
347
00:36:05,010 --> 00:36:07,550
Okay, let's do it.
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00:36:07,550 --> 00:36:09,850
If we were to build an aqueduct like the c.A.P.,
349
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But longer to be able to reach into the mississippi river,
350
00:36:12,590 --> 00:36:15,150
What we would do today would be, first,
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00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,040
Of creating a siphon to make water go uphill.
352
00:07:16,550 --> 00:07:18,820
The romans developed a genius plan
353
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To share it with their people.
354
00:07:21,420 --> 00:07:26,090
You bring high volumes, great volumes of water
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Over long distances without any electrical power.
356
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You just use natural gravity.
357
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The romans built waterways on a precise slant
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To deliver one of the basics of life free of charge
359
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To the city's homes, fountains, mills,
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And their public thermal baths.
361
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The romans also drew on the ancient principle
362
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Once they knew the water was safe to drink,
363
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While their knowledge of fluid mechanics
364
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Was not as advanced as today,
365
00:08:23,050 --> 00:08:26,050
Roman engineers knew how to regulate the flow
366
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And the speed of water
367
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So that it could even go uphill slightly, if necessary.
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00:08:32,860 --> 00:08:34,360
Narrator: The use of an inverted siphon
369
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,400
Allowed the romans to get water under obstacles.
370
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Gravity pulls the water down,
371
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And then the increasing weight of the water
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Creates enough pressure to push it up
373
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Which makes water highly contested politically.
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As it passed through the city over and over again.
375
00:05:46,130 --> 00:05:49,230
Narrator: Today, we're all about recycling.
376
00:05:49,230 --> 00:05:51,330
But we've got some costs the ancient romans
377
00:05:51,330 --> 00:05:53,300
Didn't have to worry about.
378
00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:56,570
Unlike them, we like to pay our workers.
379
00:05:56,570 --> 00:06:00,740
Plus, when they needed land, they just took it by force.
380
00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:03,910
We rely on a watershed to provide a source
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Of clean drinking water.
382
00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:11,320
Today, that watershed could lie outside of the geography
383
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Of a city,
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To exactly the same level on the opposite side.
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00:06:16,860 --> 00:06:19,960
Narrator: Why did the ancient romans go to all this trouble
386
00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,070
When the tiber river runs right through rome?
387
00:06:24,070 --> 00:06:27,000
Well, you wouldn't want to drink this water.
388
00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,770
After every war -- and the romans had so many wars
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00:06:30,770 --> 00:06:34,340
With their neighbors in their early years --
390
00:06:34,340 --> 00:06:36,410
You had some dead bodies
391
00:06:36,410 --> 00:06:40,950
Shifting there in the the tiber river.
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00:06:40,950 --> 00:06:46,220
Narrator:Luckily for this warring nation, there was another option.
393
00:06:46,220 --> 00:06:50,660
The romans discovered water in the famous seven hills of rome,
394
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And they tested it to be sure it was uncontaminated.
395
00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:50,600
But where are we going to build our new mega-system?
396
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This is central arizona,
397
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One of the driest places in north america.
398
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We're not close to an ocean at all.
399
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We have, uh, some areas where there's precipitation
400
00:10:27,180 --> 00:10:28,880
And even, uh, some small lakes.
401
00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,480
But they're far away, generally,from where the population lives.
402
00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:37,720
Narrator: Arizona's population is over 7 million and rising.
403
00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,550
This is the perfect place for our case study.
404
00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:42,620
We want to build an aqueduct of our own
405
00:10:42,630 --> 00:10:45,930
To bring clean water to millions.
406
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,830
To bring water to the people who need it most.
407
00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,100
How are we going to do it?
408
00:10:53,100 --> 00:10:55,840
What are we going to build it out of?
409
00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,940
How long is it going to take us?
410
00:10:58,940 --> 00:11:01,680
How many people do we need?
411
00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:05,550
And, can we pull it off without drowning in debt?
412
00:11:09,990 --> 00:11:13,450
Let's look for a location first.
413
00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:16,560
It turns out, even with an existing aqueduct in place,
414
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,490
Arizonans are still thirsty.
415
00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:24,630
We are in a droughtthat has lasted 18 years so far.
416
00:11:24,630 --> 00:11:27,330
Narrator: Maybe there's a way to use modern machines
417
00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,720
They're more than a remnant of ancient times.
418
00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,180
And we're still using inverted siphons today
419
00:08:51,180 --> 00:08:54,780
On modern aqueducts.
420
00:08:54,780 --> 00:08:57,720
So we've got to devise an enormous system
421
00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,850
That's efficient, nature-friendly,
422
00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:02,960
And won't break the bank.
423
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,390
And with water supplies reaching new lows across the globe,
424
00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,000
We'll need to work harder and smarter than the romans
425
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:13,500
In order to get our modern-day mega-aqueduct up and running.
426
00:09:25,450 --> 00:09:27,110
Narrator: After 2,000 years,
427
00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,420
Tourists still flockto the famous fountains of rome.
428
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,990
So the romans reused the water in a very clever way
429
00:09:35,730 --> 00:09:37,660
They're part of one of the most innovative
430
00:09:37,660 --> 00:09:40,290
And efficient water systems in history.
431
00:09:43,970 --> 00:09:45,970
We're imagining what it would take to create
432
00:09:45,970 --> 00:09:48,140
An even better system today.
433
00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:56,180
And, as it turns out, we may need it sooner than we think.
434
00:09:56,180 --> 00:09:59,210
Many climate scientists speculate that, uh,
435
00:09:59,220 --> 00:10:00,950
The new normal is actually worse
436
00:10:00,950 --> 00:10:04,320
Than what we're experiencing right now.
437
00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,090
Narrator: For that same reason, this impressive aqueduct system
438
00:10:08,090 --> 00:10:10,760
Was built back in the 1970s
439
00:01:29,170 --> 00:01:31,940
That the architecture of infrastructure
440
00:01:04,410 --> 00:01:06,580
Today, climate-change experts are warning us
441
00:01:06,580 --> 00:01:09,380
About increasing drought.
442
00:01:09,390 --> 00:01:10,720
The new normal is actually worse
443
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,050
Than what we're experiencing right now.
444
00:01:13,060 --> 00:01:15,360
Narrator: But can today's engineers measure up
445
00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,960
To the brilliance of the ancients?
446
00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:21,530
Ochsendorf: Often today, engineering is unseen.
447
00:01:21,530 --> 00:01:24,500
In ancient rome, you see the stone,
448
00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:27,370
You see the arch, you see the aqueduct,
449
00:01:27,370 --> 00:01:29,170
And you can immediately see
450
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,410
To rival the great aqueducts of rome?
451
00:01:31,940 --> 00:01:35,110
Is a celebration of public works.
452
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Narrator: And if even if we find a way,
453
00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:39,550
Are we going to be able to afford it?
454
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It might be in the realm of $50 billion to $80 billion.
455
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Narrator: We're on the jobsite of one of the world's greatest wonders.
456
00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,100
And we're wondering, how long would it take...
457
00:01:57,100 --> 00:01:59,700
How much would it cost...
458
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How many workers would we need?
459
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Could we even do it, if we built it today?
460
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-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com
461
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Of the great cities today nearly 2,000 years later.
462
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Ancient rome, europe's sole superpower.
463
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It's greatest engineering achievement --
464
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Running water.
465
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The water engineering of rome
466
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Was one of the great marvels of the ancient world.
467
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Narrator: Rome's aqueducts -- artificial rivers --
468
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Brought almost 200 million gallons a day
469
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To a city where a million citizens
470
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Lived more cleanly than anyone in history.
471
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They were able to rival public sanitation systems
472
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Captions paid for by discovery communications
473
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Narrator: There was water everywhere and plenty to drink.
474
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Busting pipes became beautiful fountains.
475
00:00:45,330 --> 00:00:48,460
Today, water never seems to be where we want it,
476
00:00:48,470 --> 00:00:49,700
When we want it.
477
00:00:49,700 --> 00:00:52,470
We're concerned about the drought in colorado.
478
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Narrator: We're not in rome,
479
00:00:53,700 --> 00:00:56,240
But could we do as the romans did?
480
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:57,570
No one can do it alone.
481
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We don't always agree, but we always work it out.
482
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Narrator: Can we build a water system
483
00:05:02,950 --> 00:05:05,950
We've come to rely on.
484
00:04:24,810 --> 00:04:29,520
More than 5 billion people won't have enough water.
485
00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,520
So we're imagining our very own aqueduct --
486
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,520
The biggest water-delivery system the world has ever seen.
487
00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:44,270
It will be ancient ingenuity versus 21st century innovation.
488
00:04:44,270 --> 00:04:47,270
But the romans have a headstart in this contest.
489
00:04:47,270 --> 00:04:49,170
They figured out how to take advantage
490
00:04:49,170 --> 00:04:52,440
Of one of the earth's elemental powers.
491
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The first rule a water engineer learns
492
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Is that water flows downhill.
493
00:05:00,020 --> 00:05:02,950
Narrator: And, they helped develop the basic building material
494
00:04:21,610 --> 00:04:24,810
Climate-change scientists predict that by 2050,
495
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,290
But can we figure out their magic formula?
496
00:05:11,230 --> 00:05:14,860
When the romans developed concrete using volcanic ash,
497
00:05:14,860 --> 00:05:18,600
It opened up a whole new world of construction.
498
00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,740
Narrator: We don't have easy access to volcanic ash
499
00:05:20,740 --> 00:05:22,100
Like the romans did.
500
00:05:22,110 --> 00:05:25,010
And how are we going to construct a colossal aqueduct
501
00:05:25,010 --> 00:05:28,510
System like theirs without creating a crushing footprint?
502
00:05:28,510 --> 00:05:32,510
The water provided bathcomplexes with a consistent flow
503
00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,180
For cold and hot pools,
504
00:05:35,190 --> 00:05:39,520
And went on to power many other systems throughout rome.
505
00:03:19,750 --> 00:03:21,420
Into the city of rome.
506
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La bella roma.
507
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We love it for its food and its music.
508
00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:23,730
Its fountains are so magnificent,
509
00:02:23,730 --> 00:02:26,960
They've inspired movies.
510
00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,530
But it's what's underneath them that's even more impressive.
511
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,230
That's because roughly 80% of this amazing system
512
00:03:02,230 --> 00:03:03,870
Is underground.
513
00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:11,510
In ancient rome, there were more than a dozen aqueducts in all.
514
00:03:11,510 --> 00:03:16,740
Combined, they covered more than 500 miles.
515
00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:19,750
They brought water all the way from the apennine mountains
516
00:11:27,340 --> 00:11:29,700
And ancient methods to bring even more water
517
00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,390
The system carried enough drinkable water
518
00:03:27,390 --> 00:03:29,220
For a million households.
519
00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:35,730
And the romans did it with style.
520
00:03:35,730 --> 00:03:42,070
Some of these arches were built as long ago as 312 b.C.
521
00:03:42,070 --> 00:03:44,970
And they instill passion to this day.
522
00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:49,240
Ochsendorf: All of the infrastructure built to provide for the city of rome
523
00:03:49,250 --> 00:03:52,880
Was seen as a celebrationof engineering and construction.
524
00:04:16,810 --> 00:04:18,840
Narrator: The ancient romans could never have guessed
525
00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:21,610
How much we would need water today.
526
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,130
Requires a lot of data,
527
00:17:33,870 --> 00:17:36,270
They constitute a number of water orders
528
00:17:36,270 --> 00:17:38,370
That come into our lead dispatcher.
529
00:17:38,370 --> 00:17:42,380
He takes those and turns those into customer requests.
530
00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:46,180
He uses the computer to take those flows and create,
531
00:17:46,180 --> 00:17:49,380
Essentially, a flow schedule throughout the c.A.P. System.
532
00:17:49,390 --> 00:17:52,120
Narrator: The romans did spot tests along their system
533
00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,090
To make sureeverything was running smoothly.
534
00:17:55,090 --> 00:17:57,220
In arizona, it's done remotely
535
00:17:57,230 --> 00:17:59,890
With the help of fiber-optic technology.
536
00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:03,000
So, because controlling all of those pieces of equipment
537
00:17:32,030 --> 00:17:33,870
That we're in here today.
538
00:18:04,130 --> 00:18:06,500
The central arizona project installed
539
00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:09,470
A fiber-optic cable along the full length of the canal.
540
00:18:09,470 --> 00:18:12,470
With that, we're able to monitor thousands of what we call
541
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,440
Data points on a near continuous basis,
542
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,310
Just to allow us to see from our centralized control center
543
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,380
Exactly what's happening in the field at every pumping plant,
544
00:18:22,380 --> 00:18:25,320
At every turnout where we make deliveries to our customers,
545
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:29,960
And at every check gate where we control the flow of water.
546
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,930
Narrator: We'll reap the benefits of this modern-day technology
547
00:18:32,930 --> 00:18:35,330
When we plan our new water system.
548
00:16:56,700 --> 00:16:59,430
If you can think of an acre of land
549
00:16:26,940 --> 00:16:29,940
So, what the central arizonaproject has is a unique feature,
550
00:16:29,940 --> 00:16:34,580
Which is a single plant that is a pump and generation station,
551
00:16:34,580 --> 00:16:37,080
Which allows us to take water and pump
552
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,720
During periods of low-power cost and low-water use
553
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,620
To fill up a reservoir or lake, and then in periods
554
00:16:44,620 --> 00:16:47,490
Of high-power cost and high-water use,
555
00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:50,490
Allow us to make releases and generate electricity
556
00:16:50,490 --> 00:16:53,560
And sell that back on the grid.
557
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,230
The central arizona project really
558
00:16:55,230 --> 00:16:56,700
Is a marvel of engineering.
559
00:18:35,330 --> 00:18:38,130
But it can't hurt to take a few tips from the tried
560
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,440
With 1.6 million feet deep of water on it,
561
00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:04,200
That's the amount of water
562
00:17:04,210 --> 00:17:08,940
Moved every year off the colorado river.
563
00:17:08,940 --> 00:17:11,850
Narrator: To track the constant flow of all that water,
564
00:17:11,850 --> 00:17:14,780
The c.A.P. Relies on the hard-working employees
565
00:17:14,780 --> 00:17:17,050
In their control center.
566
00:17:17,050 --> 00:17:21,720
Dent: If I'm a city or a farmer or an irrigation district or a tribe,
567
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,630
And I want to get water from the central arizona project,
568
00:17:25,630 --> 00:17:29,560
It starts with, essentially, a water order or a phone call.
569
00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:32,030
And that phone call comes into the control center
570
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,750
These are open, difficult political questions.
571
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,750
It's a very dangerous, manmade river.
572
00:20:38,750 --> 00:20:41,050
Narrator: We're going to need a system that's as efficient
573
00:20:41,060 --> 00:20:44,730
As the central arizona project
574
00:20:44,730 --> 00:20:46,830
But much longer.
575
00:20:46,830 --> 00:20:49,500
And we still need to figure out where to build it,
576
00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:52,970
And we may want to avoid any border crossing.
577
00:20:52,970 --> 00:20:56,540
Ochsendorf: The politics of water today are much more complicated.
578
00:20:56,540 --> 00:20:59,740
When the supply of the water exists in another country
579
00:20:59,740 --> 00:21:02,480
But a city of millions is across the border,
580
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:07,710
How do we ensure thatboth countries are provided for?
581
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:34,510
They can't come inside the fence.
582
00:21:10,750 --> 00:21:12,720
But in ancient rome, it was simpler
583
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:17,120
Because of the extent of the conquests of the roman empire.
584
00:21:19,830 --> 00:21:22,030
Narrator: Politics aren't the only thing that have changed
585
00:21:22,030 --> 00:21:25,900
Since the ancient romans built their first aqueducts.
586
00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:29,270
Today, we also have access to different building materials
587
00:21:29,270 --> 00:21:31,740
To work with.
588
00:21:31,740 --> 00:21:34,780
The romans' elegantly-designed system has been around
589
00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:36,880
Since the days of julius caesar,
590
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:41,350
And much of it has stood the test of time.
591
00:21:41,350 --> 00:21:43,680
There are so many things we can learn
592
00:19:29,220 --> 00:19:31,950
The romans slowed down the water at several places
593
00:18:38,130 --> 00:18:40,100
And true roman building techniques
594
00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:43,200
That helped shape the ancient aqueducts.
595
00:18:52,580 --> 00:18:54,110
Narrator: We want to recreate a system
596
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:58,590
Like the renowned roman aqueducts, only longer --
597
00:18:58,590 --> 00:19:00,220
Long enough to bring a lot of water
598
00:19:00,220 --> 00:19:02,620
To a very dry region of our planet.
599
00:19:02,630 --> 00:19:06,030
And we've got to ensure that the water stays clean enough
600
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For people to drink.
601
00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:11,200
2,000 years ago, the romans did this
602
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,600
By keeping their aqueducts covered.
603
00:16:22,130 --> 00:16:26,930
But, they came up with a way to afford it.
604
00:19:31,950 --> 00:19:35,560
Along the aqueduct to allow impurities to settle.
605
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,990
But although it was slow, the water was always moving.
606
00:20:12,730 --> 00:20:13,930
Got it.
607
00:20:13,930 --> 00:20:18,030
So just keep it moving, and keep it underground.
608
00:20:18,030 --> 00:20:22,770
But as it turns out, that kind of cover-up costs.
609
00:20:22,770 --> 00:20:26,270
It quadruples the base price.
610
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,480
So c.A.P. Opted for a maintenance crew
611
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,910
And a few rules for the public.
612
00:20:31,910 --> 00:20:33,280
They can't go in the water.
613
00:13:14,610 --> 00:13:16,440
Not having the tools that we have available
614
00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,650
Simple, but precise.
615
00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:49,320
Roman builders were able to survey over great distances
616
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,850
To provide nearly a straight line
617
00:12:52,860 --> 00:12:57,020
And nearly a constant slope over long distances.
618
00:12:57,030 --> 00:12:59,930
The surveying required for the aqueducts
619
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Is one of the marvels of the ancient world.
620
00:13:03,330 --> 00:13:07,100
Cooke: Modern man is continually surprised by the precision
621
00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:08,600
Which those things were built,
622
00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,570
Just using rudimentary things like sextons.
623
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It boggles even my mind how exact those things are,
624
00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,080
In rome, the ancient engineers kept it simple --
625
00:13:16,450 --> 00:13:19,880
Today like gps and laser sighting and things like that.
626
00:13:46,410 --> 00:13:48,410
Narrator: And if they needed another aqueduct,
627
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They just built it on top.
628
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Back here in america,when the central arizona project
629
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Was in its planning phase, no detail was overlooked.
630
00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:12,830
Francom: They were doing very early sighting studies
631
00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:14,440
For the central arizona project,
632
00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,300
Tried to pick a path that balanced earthwork,
633
00:14:17,310 --> 00:14:20,510
Balanced the cost of going through mountains or over them,
634
00:14:20,510 --> 00:14:24,140
And they utilized some very basic survey tools.
635
00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,270
Uh, is a renewable resource.
636
00:11:29,710 --> 00:11:32,010
To this parched state.
637
00:11:32,010 --> 00:11:35,180
80% of arizona's population gets their water
638
00:11:35,180 --> 00:11:41,280
From the massive colorado river 336 miles away.
639
00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,720
Arizona is an arid environment,
640
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,620
And so we don't supply enough natural water
641
00:11:46,620 --> 00:11:48,460
In our area to supply us.
642
00:11:48,460 --> 00:11:51,330
We've, uh, had a tendency to utilize groundwater,
643
00:11:51,330 --> 00:11:53,060
But that's a limited resource.
644
00:11:53,060 --> 00:11:55,900
So using something like the colorado river water
645
00:11:55,900 --> 00:11:59,030
And bringing water into our arizona central area,
646
00:14:24,150 --> 00:14:26,650
Narrator: But when it came time to go through a mountain,
647
00:12:02,270 --> 00:12:07,140
Narrator: But it's not just arizona that relies on this water.
648
00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:10,440
Seven different states tap into the colorado river.
649
00:12:12,580 --> 00:12:15,320
And after nearly two decades of drought,
650
00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,090
This well is running dry.
651
00:12:19,090 --> 00:12:20,720
So we're setting our sights
652
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,260
On another mighty american river --
653
00:12:23,260 --> 00:12:26,560
The mississippi.
654
00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,930
We'll need to build about 1,500 miles of aqueduct
655
00:12:29,930 --> 00:12:34,070
To connect the mississippi and colorado rivers.
656
00:12:34,070 --> 00:12:38,240
But how are we going to do that?
657
00:15:49,930 --> 00:15:53,130
Narrator: In arizona, it took 14 pumping stations
658
00:15:24,210 --> 00:15:28,610
From the existing canal system down underneath a river,
659
00:15:28,610 --> 00:15:30,210
And pop up on the other side.
660
00:15:30,210 --> 00:15:31,780
Narrator: But, one of the biggest obstacles
661
00:15:31,780 --> 00:15:33,680
Faced by american engineers
662
00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,020
Was how to maintain the flow of water --
663
00:15:36,020 --> 00:15:39,190
Something the romans did by tilting their waterway
664
00:15:39,190 --> 00:15:41,690
Ever so slightly.
665
00:15:41,690 --> 00:15:44,120
You had a continuous flow of water.
666
00:15:44,130 --> 00:15:46,990
This was never stagnant water.
667
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,930
It was running day and night.
668
00:15:22,170 --> 00:15:24,200
We were actually pulling water, in some ways,
669
00:15:53,140 --> 00:15:55,540
To keep this system going.
670
00:15:55,540 --> 00:15:58,270
So the mechanical advantage that we have in modern times
671
00:15:58,270 --> 00:15:59,710
As compared to the romans is,
672
00:15:59,710 --> 00:16:02,910
We have the ability to lift water from the lower location
673
00:16:02,910 --> 00:16:04,610
Actually to a higher location.
674
00:16:04,610 --> 00:16:07,880
And the central arizona project takes full advantage of that,
675
00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,320
As the water we lift starts in a location
676
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,690
That's lower than all of our major cities.
677
00:16:15,490 --> 00:16:19,290
Narrator: This process makes central arizona project, or c.A.P.,
678
00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:22,130
The largest electrical-power user in the state.
679
00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,880
Grinds its way through the toughest rock
680
00:14:26,650 --> 00:14:29,450
They had to get creative.
681
00:14:29,450 --> 00:14:32,950
We have a number of areas where we had to build a tunnel
682
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,090
Directly through a mountainside.
683
00:14:36,090 --> 00:14:38,090
It was built with a tunnel-boring machine
684
00:14:38,090 --> 00:14:39,960
That at that time was a --
685
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,430
Was a very, you know, technological advancement
686
00:14:42,430 --> 00:14:45,700
On the cutting edge of things.
687
00:14:45,700 --> 00:14:47,840
Narrator: The tunnel-boring machine was invented
688
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:50,670
By a french engineer in the 1700s.
689
00:14:50,670 --> 00:14:53,640
A massive wheel fitted with multiple blades
690
00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:03,120
Narrator: First century a.D.
691
00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,180
Without disturbing the layers overhead.
692
00:14:59,180 --> 00:15:02,920
It's the same technology that's often used to build subways.
693
00:15:05,090 --> 00:15:07,890
When there wasn't a mountain in the way,
694
00:15:07,890 --> 00:15:10,160
There was a river.
695
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,230
Francom: Many times, the romans chose to go over,
696
00:15:13,230 --> 00:15:16,360
Utilizing a series of viaducts.
697
00:15:16,370 --> 00:15:18,700
But for most of the central arizona project,
698
00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:20,170
When we crossed we chose to use
699
00:15:20,170 --> 00:15:22,170
What's called an inverted siphon.
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