Settlement, Growth, and Water Security for Southwest Cities - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 457

the water-usage rates of urban water users. The surprising observation is that Las Vegas is
in the most water-deprived climatic zone, and yet it has the highest per capita consump-
tion rate of all of the cities. Tucson and El Paso have the lowest consumption rate. Water
use decreased in most cities, but the increase in population is increasing the overall water
demand on the water providers; however, the conservation lifestyle has not yet become a
way of life for most of these cities.
26.9 Economic Development and Water
Southwestern cities early on attracted people because of the warm climate and wide open
spaces. The completion of the Roosevelt Dam in 1911 opened a floodgate of interest from
people interested in farming and ranching along the newly constructed canal system.
Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, and El Paso were actively competing with each other for
eastern clients seeking a cure for tuberculosis. The dry desert climate was promoted by
many to help those people afflicted by this devastating illness. Many, in fact, were cured
through their convalescence in the desert. In El Paso, Drs. Charles Hendricks and Albert
Baldwin established large successful sanatoriums to treat tuberculosis patients. In Phoenix,
Hotel Adams was considered one of the finest hotels in the region, located at the corner of
Central Avenue and Adams Street in the downtown district. Other stores began to prosper
in the newly thriving urban centers, such as the M. Goldwater and Brothers, a successful
Jewish merchant relative of the now infamous Barry Goldwater.
Military bases played a large role in the development of southwestern cities. At first,
the bases served as a means of protection against the savage Indian raids. As the area
matured, the military bases had become a valuable part of the economy by providing
employment and steady income for area suppliers and were often responsible for help-
ing to improve local infrastructure that provided service to the base. Ft. Bliss in El Paso
was established in 1849 and continues to function as an active military base today. Ft.
Lowell in Tucson was an active fort, but later was abandoned after the Civil War ended.
Ft. McDowell in Phoenix played a key role in providing protection for the settlements
along the Salt River Valley. During WWII, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson,
Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, and the Sandia
Complex added to the local economies by adding jobs and large financial impact to the
locality. A 2002 report estimated that the payroll and expenditures from military opera-
tions in Arizona contribute over $1.5 billion to the state economy and employs over
41,000 people. 11
Copper mining was a large economic interest from southern Arizona to El Paso. The
Florilla mining company opened in El Paso in 1899, followed by the El Paso Tin and
Smelting Company in 1909. Other mining operations developed as new rail lines were
able to haul the heavy ore to smelting facilities in El Paso; the Farrah clothing manufactur-
ing company opened a plant that employed more than 5000 garment workers. Cotton was
a crop of choice for southwestern farmers in dry land or irrigated croplands. Desert lands
were used to graze cattle where no other crop would survive.
In other parts of the Southwest, low land costs and relative cheap labor costs were
drawing businesses from across the country. By the 1950s, Phoenix had become the most