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In what might be a harbinger for the housing boom in the American West, Arizona is limiting approvals for new developments within the Phoenix area.
A study found that around 4% of the area’s demand for groundwater, close to 4.9M acre-feet, cannot be met over the next century, threatening to damper the explosive development that has made the city one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country.
While the announcement wouldn’t affect developments that have already been approved, or get their water sources from elsewhere, it could impact Phoenix’s outer suburbs, where developers have been keen on building new subdivisions (or push construction towards cities like Tempe and Scottsdale).
Besides the groundwater crisis, Arizona has also faced significant shortages of its surface water allocation, with a recent deal cutting usage from the drought-stricken Colorado River.
Investing Group Leader Ian Bezek covers the situation in Global Water Resources: Why I’m Not Worried About The Phoenix Housing Downturn. The article is from a year ago, but SA users are still discussing it in the comments section.