Protect local economies
Keep decisions with water users and keep working lands working.
A practical path for the West
The Colorado River can support the West for generations.
We don’t need to take people’s water to save it. We need to make conservation worth more than waste.
- Keep your
water rights - Get paid to
conserve - Build our water
reserve
The challenge
We’re living paycheck to paycheck with water.
The Colorado River supports about 40 million people, millions of acres of farmland, major industries, Tribal Nations, hydropower, and some of America’s fastest-growing cities.
We are promising more water than the river can reliably provide.
40M+people rely on the river
5.5Macres of agriculture
30Tribal Nations
7U.S. Basin states
Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
A voluntary solution
Don’t take the water.
Pay people to save it.
Farmers, ranchers, Tribes, and communities can be paid for verified water savings—without giving up their underlying water rights.
- 01Use itKeep what you need
- 02Conserve itDocument water saved
- 03Lease itVoluntarily bank savings
- 04Get paidReward stewardship
◉ Water saved is water produced♢ No community gets sacrificed
Conservation that works for people
Save water without abandoning communities.
Reward real savings
Make verified conservation financially worthwhile instead of asking communities to carry the cost.
Prepare for dry years
Build a flexible water reserve before shortage becomes crisis.
Invest where cuts land
A Community Trust Fund supports schools, hospitals, infrastructure, tourism, and the local tax base where conservation has the greatest impact.
Your voice matters
Tell Congress to keep the Colorado working.
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What is a Colorado River Conservation Bank?
A proposed voluntary mechanism that would compensate water-right holders for verified savings and hold that conserved water as a flexible reserve for the river system.
Would people lose their water rights?
No. The principle behind this proposal is that participation is voluntary and underlying water rights stay with their owners.
Why contact Congress?
Federal coordination and durable funding can help Basin states, Tribes, water users, and communities design a transparent program that works across the river system.
How would the Conservation Bank work?
It would use voluntary contracts, state water-law review, measurement and verification, transparent bidding, and public accounting to purchase real reductions in consumptive use.