Bleg: Water and Population
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
Hey Folks,
I am writing another article for the Encyclopedia of Water Politics and the Environment. This one is on the relation between water and growth (population and sprawl). It’s a juicy topic, and I basically say that cheap water has driven growth/sprawl in the western US.
Here’s an interesting fact: Clark county (Las Vegas) had <3,000 people in 1900. It had 750,000 in 1990 and over 2,000,000 in 2008. Tell Pat Mulroy that I’ve found the reason for her water “shortages.” Oh — and don’t forget that Vegas has some of the cheapest water ($30/month on average) and highest per capita consumption (260 gcd) in the US!
I’ve posted a draft here [PDF]. If you can read/comment on it before July 30 (my deadline), I’d be grateful!
The PDF has line numbers so you can reference your comments (helpful to me and others) in this post. Anonymous comments welcome — as usual.
Bottom Line: For many years, cheap water drove growth. That pleased politicians and real estate developers, but it was not sustainable. The end of abundance means that we can no longer have cheap water. Raise prices!
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