Law Commons^™

Beyond All Drought: Improving Urban Water Conservation In The West Through Integrative Water And Land Use Policy, Benjamin Longbottom, Alexandria Gordon

Natural Resources Journal

Although droughts have long plagued the western United States, rapid population growth and climate change are making the American West increasingly water insecure. In some western states, including Arizona, Colorado, and California, decisionmakers are responding to these changes with innovative water conservation-focused land use policies. In other states, however, water and land use policies are lagging decades behind. Improving water security in western cities is an enormous task, requiring extensive social, legal, and policy reform. Additional federal funding for western water security initiatives could do much to drive that reform, but state and local governments should also play a leading …