Water and the Future of Land Development

Author: Deborah L. Myerson

Published: November 22, 2002

Earth is known as the “water planet,” but only 1 percent of the water that covers more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface is fresh. Earth’s ecosystem and its inhabi- tants cannot function without clean, fresh water. Ques- tions about the sustainability of the existing U.S. water supply are surfacing in rapidly growing states such as Texas, Arizona, and California, while other regions of the country that normally have an abundant supply of water are experiencing severe drought conditions and adopting increasingly rigorous conservation measures.