Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
26
Settlement, Growth, and Water
Security fo r Southwest Cities
Richard A. Malloy
CONTENTS
26.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 441
26.2 Background ......................................................................................................................442
26.3 Early History .................................................................................................................... 443
26.4 Original Settlements ....................................................................................................... 443
26.4.1 El Paso ...................................................................................................................444
26.4.2 Albuquerque ........................................................................................................ 446
26.4.3 Las Vegas .............................................................................................................. 446
26.4.4 Phoenix ................................................................................................................. 447
26.4.5 Tucson ................................................................................................................... 447
26.5 Securing Water ................................................................................................................ 448
26.6 Water Sources .................................................................................................................. 451
26.6.1 El Paso Area ......................................................................................................... 452
26.6.2 Albuquerque ........................................................................................................ 452
26.6.3 Las Vegas .............................................................................................................. 453
26.6.4 Phoenix ................................................................................................................. 454
26.6.5 Tucson ................................................................................................................... 454
26.7 Water Policy ..................................................................................................................... 455
26.8 Water Problems ............................................................................................................... 457
26.9 Economic Development and Water .............................................................................. 459
26.10 Settlement and Growth .................................................................................................. 460
26.11 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 464
References ..................................................................................................................................... 465
26.1 Introduction
The southwestern cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and El Paso are the
largest centers of urban population in the desert Southwest and have been among the
fastest growing areas in the country in recent decades. The recent economic downturn in
the United States starting in 2008 hit the Southwest region extremely hard, forcing state
and local agencies to make deep and painful cuts due to the dramatic fall in revenues to
fund government operations. Today, these cities are currently grappling with some of the
highest home foreclosure and unemployment rates in the country with limited signs of
any immediate change in this condition. This pause in the pace of urban development of
441
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search