Linking Housing Growth to Water Supply: New Planning Frontiers in the American West

Faced with rapid population growth and the increasing difficulty of obtaining new sources of water, many western states now condition the approval of residential development on the adequacy of long-term water supplies. Although planners have generally supported these laws as means of linking water and land use decisions, their implementation is proving challenging. Drawing on the experiences in five western states, we evaluate whether water adequacy laws effectively meet the dual objectives of protecting the resource base and encouraging the development of supplies to support growth.