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In early 2026, an organization in the Western US initiated a proposal to use nuclear power to desalinate sea water to replace the flow of the Colorado River.
The idea was picked up by a major news outlet, and it has generated some interest.
NewMars subscribed to the outreach service, and the text below reports on status of the initiative as of April, 2026.
NEWSLETTER 168 | April 11, 2026
View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/blueribboncoalition. … d6ebe697e2)
** COLORADO RIVER ABUNDANCE ACT UPDATE
------------------------------------------------------------** We Can Fill Lake Powell in Three Years
------------------------------------------------------------
https://blueribboncoalition.org/colorad … -703596658We can fill Lake Powell in Three Years… That was the headline of our launch video
https://youtube.com/shorts/-XQrI7hqbgc? … -703596658
for the Colorado River Abundance Act. It now has over 1 million views and counting, and the momentum is only building.
>>> WATCH HERE <<<
https://youtube.com/shorts/-XQrI7hqbgc? … -703596658
This is partly because the West’s worst snowpack in recording history is setting the Colorado River users up for a difficult year. We expect the Bureau of Reclamation to pull out all the stops to do what they can to stabilize the system. There is also the possibility that we get some late storms that might help a little.
But the one thing that is becoming painfully obvious to everyone is that this is not a realistic way to manage a water supply for over 40 million people in addition to the communities, industries and ecosystems that depend on this water.
Since we released the Colorado River Abundance Act, we have been building support for it across the West. While we started by recruiting support from our members and supporters who contribute significantly to the recreation economy of the West. We have seen support come in from all corners.
** National Coverage of the CRAA
------------------------------------------------------------A few weeks ago, the USA Today published a feature story
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat … -703596658
on our proposal.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat … 703596658)
Since that story broke we have received acknowledgement of support from:
* Water mangers who are eager to see this plan progress
* Nuclear physicists from the nation’s top research universities have confirmed that plans to desalinate water and convey it where it needs to go are technically and economically feasible.
* Innovators who build large scale desalination solutions have reached out in support.
* We have had extensive conversations with national, state and local officials, who are exploring ways to show their support for the core principles of our proposal.
All agree: we should invest in abundance, we should lead with innovation, we should build for the future, and — above all — the way to fix a water shortage crisis is to add more water to the system.
Many of the news stories about the stress facing the users of the Colorado River focus on the division:
* Will the states agree on a plan?
* Who’s hired the best lawyers?
* Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over…
Let’s also not forget the “drainers,” who want to drain our reservoirs, dismantle our infrastructure, and cut off water to millions of people, showing up in every article to tell us we aren’t capable of doing big things.
However, while the noise and the division are getting louder, and it will likely only get worse, we are also seeing headlines like this:
We are learning that the big ideas of the Colorado River Abundance Act are technically possible— we’re already doing them just on a smaller scale.
We are learning that even though the costs are real, the costs of doing nothing are both astronomical and catastrophic. Arizona alone estimates $2.7 trillion in economic losses could result from water shortages.
We are seeing bipartisan support for the idea. We are seeing support building from across a broad range of water users.
Above all, we are seeing a path forward.
But, if we are being honest, investing in the future of this system was something the Bureau of Reclamation said we needed to start doing back in 2012. While it would have been nice if this was started years ago, the next best time to start is now, and the worst time to do this is never.
We’ve been told that initial plants can be brought online quickly, so delay is most likely to come from the political process and/or the regulatory system. We included regulatory reform in the Act to ensure rapid deployment, so the only real hurdle is getting political leaders to unify around the idea.
Let’s get to work and tell our leaders that we want to invest in water abundance for our Western communities.
Support the Colorado River Abundance Act
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