
Crazy or genius? A nuclear-powered solution to the West's water crisis
USA TODAY
A $40 billion plan proposes massive desalination plants to save the Colorado River, but critics call it \
PAGE, Arizona ‒ In the middle of the desert sits a sign: "Caution docks may be slippery."
They are not.
In fact, there's not a drop of water to be seen at Antelope Point Marina, which once sat near the shore of Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir. The sparkling Colorado River now laps at the Glen Canyon walls about 180 feet below, completely invisible from a dock that once floated atop the water.
Instead of reflecting the bright blue Arizona sky near the Four Corners region of the Southwest, the lake's water level reflects the dire reality that the Colorado River is running out of water. And the dock with the sign dangles off a 100-foot cliff, waiting for a refill that climatologists say will likely never come.
"Things are really, really rough on the Colorado River. It's ugly," said Eric Balken, the executive director of the Glen Canyon Institute. "Everybody is at a place right now where we're all asking, 'what the heck happens now? What are we doing?'"













