Policy Debates Over the Southern Nevada Water Authority Groundwater Development Project: Beneficial Uses of Water in a Desert
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title
Journal of the Southwest
Publisher
University of Arizona * Southwest Center
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Volume
59
Issue
1-2
First Page
302
Last Page
337
Abstract
The western United States continues to be the fastest-growing and fastest-urbanizing region of the country, while also being the most arid (Mackun and Wilson, 2011). As population and cities continue to grow in water-scarce environments, people are forced to confront value tradeoffs in trying to balance efficiency, equity, and effectiveness of water allocation practices (Ingram, Scaff, and Silko, 1986; National Research Council, 1992; Howe and Ingram, 2002; Ingram, Whiteley, and Perry, 2008). In the U.S. West, these water allocation challenges are made even more difficult as people try to increase the flexibility of an established water system deeply entrenched in American political and institutional history (Ingram, 1990; Wilkinson, 1992; Reisner, 1993; Ingram and Brown, 1998; Lach, Rayner, and Ingram 2005; Lach, Ingram, and Rayner, 2006).
Recommended Citation
Welsh, L.W., & Endter-Wada, J. (2017). Policy Debates over the Southern Nevada Water Authority Groundwater Development Project: Beneficial Uses of Water in a Desert. Journal of the Southwest, 59(1), 302-337. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsw.2017.0014.