New Developments Drain the Local Water Supply

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published October 16, 2007 at 9:08 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Will Southern California have enough water in the future to quench the thirst of its rapidly growing population? State law says cities must show there is a sufficient water supply to serve new develop

Tom Fudge: New housing developments seem to always be controversial in San Diego County. But when people complain about new housing tracts going in their concerns always seem to be about traffic and road capacity. Are they forgetting something? What about water?

Developers are supposed to be able to identify sources of water and tell how their new developments will be supplied without overtaxing existing water supply. But KPBS reporter Amita Sharma says it's a rule that's more honored in the breach than in the observance. Today she produced a story for Morning Edition that looked at the risk new developments pose to California's water supply.

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If you are interested in learning more about our local water crisis, we've created a page on our Web site with videos, interactive graphs, slideshows, the reporter's features, as well as a water conservation quiz. To check it all out, go to www.kpbs.org/tappedout .

Guest

Amita Sharma , KPBS News reporter.