Why are so many Americans moving to places with water shortages?

Question

Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Atlanta are 3 of the 4 fastest growing cities in the USA.

http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/americas_fastest_growing_cities.html

But all of these are having water problems. Las Vegas is in the middle of a desert and looking for new water sources, the southwest is in the middle of a 10 year drought which is forecast to last another 90 years, and Georgia is in the middle of a drought and is forecast to run out of water in 80 days.

To be fair, Georgia's problem is a new one, but why are these cities with serious water problems exacerbating the problem by continuing to grow rapidly? Is it the fault of people moving to the cities, of the fault of the cities themselves for not limiting growth?

Answer 1

I recommend "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond. The Easter Islanders didn't see the deforestation as a problem because it came on gradually over many generations. Water shortages in the SW aren't seen as a problem because the taps haven't run dry.

At least in the U.S., you can't limit population growth without changing the constitution. People are free to move about the country, that this might be a bad idea in terms of long-term sustainability never enters into the equation because the negative aspects won't be felt for a few years.

Answer 2

Well that is a good question. My personal take on this is that it is both sides fault. The people should at least do some research on where they are moving before they move there. But cities also should limit the number of citizens so it does not become over populated this would especially be important when the resources become extremely limited. So in reality I do think both the citizens and the cities are causing the problem and making it worse too. Also cities should make sure they have enough resources to accommodate all the citizens that live there.

Answer 3

There is probably no single answer to this question. When people make a change of location, they are not often thinking about their impact on the environment. More likely they are thinking about how this change will benefit them (better income, warmer climate, better schooling choices).
I live in Arizona, but not in Phoenix. We have lived in north central Arizona for 14 years. When we first moved here, there was no water shortage. We moved here to get away from smog, traffic, overcrowding, crime and the like (came from SoCal).
The area we live in is continuing to grow and water has become an issue. We sincerely wish that the towns and cities around us would limit growth, but they want the additional revenues that increased population creates.
If you want my opinion, the greatest reason that people keep moving to water shorted areas is greed. Cities really should take a hard and practical look at the water needs and supplies, but as long as greed is an issue, I don't think that will happen.

Answer 4

Well Dana, this is the land of opportunity, and when communities expand they need to employ doctors and nurses, police and fire, teachers, attract industry and commerce (Vegas = gambling, etc.), and the service industry always follows. Development and growth isn't in and of itself the evil. It's the lack of proper planning, the lack of a Master Plan, of vision, and the inclusion of greed and/or the insistence on propping up the tax base without factoring in the true costs of an infrastructure that will support the expected population 70 years down the line. Also, homes are usually affordable; we have pals now living in Henderson that traded in their Southern California home years ago to move there. They've already moved up into a "bigger, better" home.

I haven't touched bases with the cuz in Atlanta, he's been a bit stressed of late, but his take on the situation there would be interesting, so I guess its time to check in.

Answer 5

It's a very interesting question. Where I live we don't have problems with water shortages. Rather the opposite but the dilemma is similar. Lots of houses are being built in low areas in risk of becoming flooded more frequently within a few decades. (Mostly because of the calculations of more heavy rains).

I don't think these issues can be left to the average person to deal with. But communities ought to have plans in order to present how to deal with severe situations that might occur. Just like building projects sometimes are being stopped today because the infrastructure like schools and roads cannot take any further load (at least that's the case in Sweden) the same should go for projects with issues like water shortages, risk for floodings e t c not taken care of.

Answer 6

Whenever I hear people around here talk about the 'value' of real estate, they mean price of the home and whether it's by a golf club, football stadium or beachfront. And that we get so much more house for the money (TX) than in (wherever). They never talk about how well the area can be supplied by any resources.
I just saw a show about Angkor Wat, this ancient civilization that grew too big for it's area water supply so a lot of problems were created and they ended up having to abandon the site.
I think there would be a lot of reasons to move to the area (mainly job & family) but I don't think many American born citizens consider the water supply.

Answer 7

Thats a really interesting question...It never really crossed my mind that water problems were even on the radar of people who were moving to those areas....I guess they think that the job opertunities far out weigh the thought of having a water problem......I know because in Denver we had the same problem 4-5 years ago

Answer 8

People have to live somewhere. Who are you to say that they made a bad choice of location. If they run out of water they will move. Or learn to get along with less water. Just let the desert take back their yard, no grass or trees, not even in parks or on road medians. That one change alone, no outdoor watering, would cut water use in half in most cities. And after all, people don't NEED grass to live, only drinking and washing water.

Answer 9

You have a chicken or egg question, here.
Those locations didn't have water problems before their populations grew so fast.
Some of the shortages are caused by communities upstream that are also growing, too. Each individual community didn't grow too much, but combined, they all did.

Answer 10

I'm just guessing, but it seems that places without a lot of water tend to have mild climates. People are moving there for the nice weather, perhaps? I'm not sure about Atlanta, though.