California losing water

Across the Coachella Valley, an inland stretch of Southern California dotted with oases of affluence, local planning officials are weighing applications for development in the desert, including 7,800 new homes approved by the city of Coachella last summer, even as authorities warn of continuing declines in the aquifer and in the Colorado River, which provide water to these communities. California has a population of about 38 million; it is projected to hit just under 50 million by 2050.

Folsom officials describe the expansion here as the kind of well-planned development that has characterized their trim and attractive city since it was founded in 1856. “Housing doesn’t create growth — people create growth,” Mr. Palmer, the city manager, said. “It’s happening all over California. When you are in the city business, you accommodate market factors.”....

nytimes.com/2015/08/20/us/losing-water-california-tries-to-stay-atop-economic-wave.html?ref=topics