For decades, the West has debated how to divide the shrinking waters of the Colorado River. Every proposal asks who should receive less. We should be asking a different question: How can we create more?
A Colorado River Renewal Project deserves serious study. The concept is straightforward: Use proven desalination technology to convert seawater from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) into freshwater, powered by reliable energy, and deliver that new water into the Lake Mead system. Instead of redistributing shortages, we would add a new source of water to the Colorado River Basin.
The technologies required already exist. Large-scale desalination, nuclear power, pipelines and pumping systems have been used successfully for decades. The challenge is not engineering – it is political will.
The Colorado River supplies water to about 40 million people, supports agriculture across the Southwest and drives a significant part of the Western economy. Continuing to fight over a shrinking resource is not a long-term strategy.
I am not asking policymakers to approve this project today. I am asking Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, the seven basin states and leading engineering universities to commission an independent feasibility study. If the idea proves impractical, we will know why. If it proves feasible, we may have the opportunity to strengthen the Colorado River system for generations.
The West has always solved its biggest challenges by thinking boldly. Water should be no exception.
Sean McEniry
Centennial