With a multipronged strategy, San Antonio has managed to achieve the nearly impossible - keeping water use flat while accommodating substantial growth - rightfully earning it the title "Water's Most Resourceful City," reports Mose Buchele.
"[B]y dramatically cutting consumption, pioneering new storage techniques
and investing in water recycling and desalination projects," San Antonio has become the envy of cities across America now reeling from a record drought. According to Buchele, "There are so many programs and projects that Chuck Ahrens of Water
Resources and Conservation with the San Antonio Water System can hardly
keep track."
Although Ahrens has a hard time naming them all, "These are the things that have allowed San Antonio to be one of the
fastest-growing cities in the country while not increasing water
consumption," writes Buchele. "In fact, the city still uses about the same amount of water
it did in the early '90s even though it has added more than 300,000
residents."
Read the full story: How A Texas Town Became Water Smart
The Texas Miracle: Looking Beyond the Impressive Growth Numbers
Texas is booming—its growth in people and jobs puts it in a league of its own. But another set of growth data pales by comparison: Infrastructure, particularly in the water and transportation needed to accommodate the growth, is woefully lacking.
Federal proposal calls for mandatory water cuts to Arizona, California and Nevada
The Bureau of Reclamation stepped in after states failed to come to an agreement over Colorado River water use reductions.
New agreement would let Arizona, Nevada use water from California desalination plant
The plan will help reduce strain on Lake Mead during extreme drought periods.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority