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Climate News Arizona restricts construction around Phoenix as water supply wanes Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of its largest city that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought worsened by the climate crisis
Gov. Hobbs puts pause on water supply certificates Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Close Read more Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought that is sapping its water supply .
In a news conference Thursday, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the pause on new construction that would affect some of the fastest-growing areas of the nation's fifth-largest city.
Driving the state's decision was a projection that showed that over the next 100 years, demand for almost 5 million acre-feet of groundwater in metro Phoenix would be unmet without further action, Hobbs said.
An acre-foot of water is roughly enough for two to three U.S. households per year.
Officials said the move would not affect existing homeowners who already have assured water supplies.
Despite the move, the governor said the state isn’t running out of water. “Nobody who has water is going to lose their water,” Hobbs said.
Years of drought in the West worsened by the climate crisis have ratcheted up pressure on Western states to use less water. The drought has also made groundwater — long used by farmers and rural residents in Arizona and elsewhere with little restriction — even more vital.
Until today's announcement, that was the case for developers in Phoenix suburbs like Queen Creek and Buckeye, said Nicole Klobas, chief counsel for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
Builders relied on the region's groundwater to show that they had adequate water supplies for the next 100 years, which Arizona requires for building permits.
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