Arizona limits future home-building in Phoenix area due to lack of groundwater

The state of Arizona has restricted future home-building in the Phoenix area due to a lack of groundwater, based on projections showing that wells will run dry under existing conditions.

The action by the Arizona department of water resources on Thursday is set to slow population growth for the Phoenix region, the state capital, home to 4.6 million people and one of the most rapidly expanding areas of the United States.

The decision underscores the precarious position of Arizona in the face of a “megadrought”, fueled by the climate crisis, that has gripped the US west for the past two decades. Last week the state, along with Nevada and California, agreed to significant cutbacks in the use of water from the Colorado River, which is rapidly shrinking.

Arizona, one of the driest states in the US, gets around a third of its water from the Colorado River, with approximately another 40% coming from groundwater sources. The state’s recently concluded analysis projected a water shortfall of 4.86 million acre feet (6bn cubic meters) in the Phoenix area over the next 100 years. In…