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TITLE: Linking Housing Growth to Water Supply: The American West’s New Frontier

AUTHORS: Ellen Hanak and Margaret K. Browne

PAGES: 39      DATE: June 2004

ABSTRACT: Faced with rapid population growth and increasing difficulties in mobilizing new sources of water, many western states have introduced regulations conditioning the approval of residential development on the adequacy of long-term water supplies. Although planners have generally supported these laws as a way of ensuring linkages between water and land-use decisions, their implementation is proving challenging. Drawing on the experiences in five western states, we evaluate the effectiveness of water adequacy laws in meeting the dual objectives of protecting the resource base and encouraging the development of supplies to support growth.

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