We need more water
When we decided to build our house, here, we had to make sure of a few things. What were the risks from natural disasters. Could we have a driveway. Was there water. That was a big question, with an easy answer. Sure. Lots of it. Not related to the obvious abundance of salt water. We were good, and we got a new house.
That’s not the way it works in some places. This week, I learned that Phoenix, in Arizona, has just passed a bylaw that forbids new subdivisions. The reason is simple. They are running out of water.
You see, the city is on its way to a population of close to two millions. Most of the new citizens have come from elsewhere, and they came with expectations. Including the right to have lawns and gardens, and pools and golf courses. Like where they were before. Except that this area is in a desert.
The happy homeowners have been putting in wells, and using water as an endless resource. Which isn’t. Now the developers have to come up with a few really good ideas. Back in antiquity, the big idea would have been an aqueduct. That is now an option, because the city in a desert has neighbours that also want water. And with their own population, larger than most cities, the have drained the aquifers. I heard mention of the land sinking, akin to a leaky air mattress.
It is just a thought, but if you want to live in the sand, you might need to bring your own water.
