A WATER + ENERGY VISION FOR THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

What if we stopped fighting over a shrinking water supply—and started building the water future the Southwest needs to prosper?

Save the Southwest is exploring whether desalination, water exchanges, abundant energy, and major infrastructure can work together to create enough new water supply to materially change the future of the Colorado River system.

Explore the Idea →
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02
THE CHALLENGE

The Southwest has a water math problem.

For generations, the Colorado River has helped communities, agriculture, businesses, and industries thrive across the Southwest.

When demand and available supply no longer comfortably align, there are two fundamental choices:

Do more with the water we already have. Or find ways to create more.

Conservation and efficiency remain essential. Save the Southwest asks what becomes possible when we pursue those efforts while also expanding supply.

See the Idea →
Southwestern reservoir surrounded by exposed canyon walls
The River SystemWater connects reservoirs, communities, agriculture, and industry across the region.
Irrigated agricultural fields in the Southwest
AgricultureReliable water supports one of the region's foundational sectors.
Southwestern city skyline with mountains
Growing CommunitiesWater security shapes the choices available to future communities.
03
THE IDEA

Create water. Exchange water.
Leave more water in the river.

Instead of relying on one massive project, Save the Southwest explores a system of solutions working together.

Southwest reservoir and landscape representing a new regional water future
ONE POSSIBLE NEW SOURCE

Start with water that isn't coming from the Colorado River.

Coastal desalination is one pathway being examined alongside exchanges, substitution, conservation, and new conveyance infrastructure.

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Desalination

Creates new freshwater supply.

⇄

Water Exchanges

Can replace selected Colorado River demand.

↗

Infrastructure

Moves water where it creates the greatest benefit.

⚡

Abundant Energy

Provides the power required to operate at scale.

OCEAN
new source
→
DESALINATION
→
EXCHANGE +
SUBSTITUTION
→
COLORADO RIVER
relief
See the Goal →
04
THE GOAL
3.0MAF / YEAR

That's the goal.
Not the conclusion.

Our feasibility work has currently identified a 1.75 MAF/year base portfolio, with additional opportunities under investigation. The objective is to determine whether durable 3 MAF/year of Colorado River relief can ultimately be achieved.

1.75MAF / YEAR
SUPPORTED BASE
2.50MAF / YEAR
EXPANSION POTENTIAL
1.25MAF / YEAR
BASE-CASE GAP
Southwestern reservoir and canyon landscape
Why scale mattersThe objective is not simply to build a water project. It is to determine whether new supply can become large enough to materially improve the system.
See the Vision →
05
THE VISION

Don't just protect the Southwest.
Prepare it to prosper.

The Southwest's future shouldn't be defined by scarcity.

As communities grow and new industries emerge, water and energy will become even more important to the region's future.

It's whether we can build the infrastructure today that gives the next generation room to grow.

Save the Southwest explores a future where new water supplies, abundant energy, and modern infrastructure work together—strengthening the Colorado River system while creating the foundation for continued opportunity and prosperity across the Southwest.

It's about making what's next possible.

Southwestern city at sunset
Opportunity
Large solar energy installation
Abundant Energy
Productive agricultural fields
Agriculture
Family looking across a Southwest landscape
Future Generations
Southwestern desert landscape
The Southwest
Examine the Evidence →
06
THE EVIDENCE

A big idea deserves
serious questions.

We don't want concerned citizens to simply believe the idea. We want them to examine it.

Southwest reservoir representing water supply research
WATERCan it create meaningful water?Test desalination, substitution, exchange, and conservation pathways rather than assuming any one solution works.
Solar energy across the Southwest landscape
ENERGYCan the Southwest power it?Model firm nuclear generation, solar, storage, and flexible desalination as one integrated energy system.
Southwest landscape representing future water corridors and infrastructure
BUILDABILITY + ENVIRONMENTCan we responsibly build it?Examine conveyance, elevation, pumping, reservoir integration, permitting, and environmental constraints before calling a route viable.
Growing Southwest community representing economic opportunity
ECONOMICSCan we afford it?Separate water costs from power assets that can also serve the grid, industry, data centers, and growing communities.
ASSUMPTIONS→EVIDENCE→CALCULATIONS→CHALLENGES→CONCLUSIONS

We are testing the idea—not trying to prove a predetermined answer. Every major assumption should be visible, every calculation traceable, and unresolved questions should remain unresolved until the evidence supports a conclusion.

See the Big Question →
THE BIG QUESTION

What could the Southwest become if water scarcity no longer defined its future?

We don't claim to have all the answers. We're doing the work to determine what's possible.

Build the water future.
Make what's next possible.

Story Complete ✓   Continue with the Plan or Evidence when you’re ready.