Promoting Water Sustainability by Enabling Water Neutral Development

In water-scarce regions, the lack of availability of water supply often constrains the ability of communities to approve new residential and commercial development. A building moratorium has sometimes been declared in California communities and elsewhere. The City of Phoenix is now undergoing an evaluation of how new development can proceed in the face of Colorado River Basin shortages. But a solution is at hand. Programs already exist — and a template program called Net Blue can be deployed — by communities wishing to require offsets to the new water demand that accompanies new development projects. These local offsets can be customized to local conditions and can thus make new development water-sustainable. This webinar will present various strategies that have been proposed and implemented in two case studies in New Mexico and California, and will provide access to free tools to help communities plan for water-neutral or even water-positive new development.