It is not the first time I have commented on the up and coming water shortage in many areas of California, Nevada and other Western States - but someone, sometime has to address it with less than a cursory reference.  It will not be long before there will be water wars among the States, threatened already by Las Vegas recently, as the Colorado River becomes so depleted and so over used and abused, multiple cities and counties are soon to be really hurting.  Overbuilding and expansion of city populations in areas that have already been flagged for future problems, continue and it is as if the local governments have blinders on, in their efforts to get more tax revenue. The Desert Resort area of Coachella Valley (Palm Springs and all its sister cities) have relied on the aquifer under the valley floor, and as it depletes at an alarming rate and the water level drops dangerously low, there seem no interest in what might occur within a decade. Las Vegas is so overbuilt, now that we are in a real estate market downturn, the number of foreclosures will soon be a pandemic in that area. When the market stabilizes, if this overbuilding starts again, it will be a precursor to a calamity.

In the Coachella Valley, there should be a moratorium on golf course construction, conversion of current courses to recycled water and no summer reseeding and upkeep for the many courses in private clubs where there are less than 5% of the residents in residence, during the hottest summer months. No future residence building should allow any grass landscaping, with the availability of seemingly lush desert desertscapes to replace water guzzling lawns. Current lawn owners should be convinced to take out the lawns and replace them with desertscapes. Pools should be required to have pool covers in the summer months.  Pool refilling should be restricted to once a year. Homes and businesses that have leaking irrigations systems that leave floods of water running for blocks, down local gutters should be cited and required to stop the waste overflow.  Its not time to shrug this off - it is time to act and act very soon. City councils are put on notice.