You can, they are called canals. Look at the Nile delta and the network of irrigation trenches used to spread water from the river to the wider areas. There are a number of dam projects in Africa which are all about managing water flows.
The principle problem is when your divert water it’s usually at a cost to another area that was using it.
meco03211@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Physically there’s no issue. But oil goes from one specific spot (where it’s located) to another specific spot (where it’s refined). Floods and droughts are a little more random. So you’re setting up massive infrastructure for sporadic use going from one random point to another. And all this doesn’t generate money. Maybe it could save money, but bean counters don’t care about that.
Melkath@kbin.social 5 weeks ago
And there is my tidbit about blowing up Palestinians instead of ensuring Americans have potable water.