Water Planning for Growing Southwestern Communities - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 281

15.7 Conclusion
Water planning has never been easy, but it is becoming more difficult due to relatively
scarce supplies, growing populations, extended drought, and climate change. As commu-
nities grow, issues become more diverse and complex. The public is very aware of issues
related to the safety of their water supplies. Many Southwestern areas are pushing the enve-
lope of physical constraints. In the twentieth century, the challenges were largely engineer-
ing, and they were overcome through the building of dams and water delivery systems.
Water delivery to areas like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas meant that they could
grow. The early twenty-first century presents different challenges. Rivers are fully or over-
allocated. Water tables are declining. Dams are rarely considered an option, even if there
were water supplies to capture and deliver. Citizens recognize the value of open spaces
and riparian areas. There are concerns about the security of our food supplies. Planning
to meet the water needs of Southwestern urban areas is not only the job of water planners
and managers. Water planning is a community exercise, where the size of the community
likely differs from the boundaries of a single water provider or even a collection of them.
Water planning will have to incorporate public values regarding uses of water, such as
reclaimed wastewater and water conservation. It will have to acknowledge that individu-
als may have more control of their water use through rainwater harvesting or on-site water
recycling (gray water systems). The geographic area of relevance may be wider than in prior
periods. It will have to incorporate a changed paradigm for scientific water modeling. In sum-
mary, good water planning will be more difficult but also more necessary than ever before.
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