Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO Danny Seiden argues restricting growth will not solve the state’s water shortage, pointing out that Arizona has added millions of residents over 40 years while using roughly the same amount of water through conservation, reuse and storage funded in part by growth itself. He notes that agriculture accounts for the vast majority of water use, and that converting farmland to housing often reduces water consumption rather than adding to it. Seiden calls for responsible project-by-project water accountability rather than blanket anti-growth policies that would raise housing costs.
