Water scarcity is prompting different behaviour in big US cities sparkling in the deserts. Writers like James Kunstler predict that in a short time Las Vegas and Pheonix |(in the Arizona desert - the 5th fastest growing US city) will be toast. You do have to question the wisdom of building a city in a desert.
In Las Vegas, where rain is so infrequent that some residents can remember the days it fell in a given year, front-yard turf has been banned for new homes.
Back then "they came in with bulldozers and dynamite, and they took the desert and turned it into a green oasis," Rohret said, surveying a rock-lined fairway within sight of the Las Vegas strip. "Now ... it's just the reverse."
California requires developers of large housing projects to prove they have sufficient water.
Tucson will require new businesses to start collecting rainwater for irrigation in 2010.
In Phoenix, the United States' fifth-largest city, authorities say sustainable groundwater and ample surface water allocations from the Colorado and Salt rivers meet the city's needs, even factoring in growth through a moderate drought. |
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