Booming West Faces Busted Water Supply

Projections of water shortages and predicted changes in the climate mean bad news for water users in the American West.

1 minute read

May 18, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

And with more than 23 million more residents expected to live in the region by 2030, resources will become increasingly stressed.

"[G]iven the International Panel on Climate Change's warnings about anthropogenic global warming and a well-documented expanding drought, residents of the West are not just living on borrowed water, they're also living on borrowed time.

Glen MacDonald is the director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and an international expert on the effects of climate change and drought. He says that the best climate models that exist predict the 21st century is likely to be increasingly arid if greenhouse gases increase. But discounting that, MacDonald says we can expect more severe and longer-lasting droughts than occurred in the 20th century.

'It all adds up to the fact that we have to do some very, very serious long-range water resource planning,' he says."

FULL STORY: Water Shortages Threaten the American West Lifestyle

Friday, May 13, 2011 in Miller-McCune

Environment Infrastructure Land Use Social / Demographics United States Water Climate Change Population Growth Western U.S. Droughts View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.