Despite a Worsening Water Shortage, Developers Are Mapping Out New Projects in Phoenix Desert
Developers planning to build new housing in the desert west of Phoenix are running out of groundwater needed to move projects forward in the midst of a megadrought affecting dry regions across the Western U.S. Even as water shortages worsen, developers are kickstarting new projects across Arizona, arguing that they can bypass water limitations with low-flow fixtures, drip irrigation, and other drought-friendly building methods and home features.
With a waning water supply and few alternatives remaining, the Arizona Department of Water Resources is being forced to strike down those construction plans to protect the Colorado River and to preserve water for existing households.
“We must talk about the challenge of our time: Arizona’s decades-long drought, over usage of the Colorado River, and the combined ramifications on our water supply, our forests, and our communities,” Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement last week.
Developers in the Phoenix area are required to get state certificates proving that they have 100 years’ worth of water supplies in the ground over which they’re building before they’re approved to construct any properties.