Mother Nature (WRATH)

[BullNBear52]

Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles
In what could be a glimpse of the future as climate change batters the West, officials ruled there’s not enough groundwater for projects already approved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/climate/arizona-phoenix-permits-housing-water.html
Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign of looming trouble in the West and other places where overuse, drought and climate change are straining water supplies.

The decision by state officials very likely means the beginning of the end to the explosive development that has made the Phoenix area the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country.

The state said it would not revoke building permits that have already been issued and is instead counting on new water conservation measures and alternative sources to produce the water necessary for housing developments that have already been approved.

On Thursday, Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said Arizona was not immediately running dry and that new construction would continue in major cities like Phoenix. The analysis prepared by the state looked at groundwater levels over the next 100 years.

“We’re going to manage this situation,” she said at a news conference. “We are not out of water and we will not be running out of water.”

Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and its suburbs, gets more than half its water supply from groundwater. Most of the rest comes from rivers and aqueducts as well as recycled wastewater. In practical terms, groundwater is a finite resource; it can take thousands of years or longer to be replenished.

The announcement of a groundwater shortage means Arizona would no longer give developers in some areas of Maricopa County new permits to construct homes that rely on wells for water.

The announcement is the latest example of how climate change is reshaping the American Southwest. A 23-year drought and rising temperatures have lowered the level of the Colorado River, threatening the 40 million Americans in Arizona and six other states who rely on it — including residents of Phoenix, which gets water from the Colorado by aqueduct.

The Phoenix area occupies a valley in southern Arizona, cradled by mountain ridges and sliced by the Salt and Gila rivers. The landscape is filled with lush golf courses, baseball diamonds, farm fields and swimming pools, contrasted against rocky brown terrain that surrounds it.

The county uses some 2.2 billion gallons of water a day — more than twice as much as New York City, despite having half as many people.