Quenching Urban Thirst: Cities and Their Effects on Freshwater Ecosystems

This article discusses potential ecological degradation that could result from future expansion of urban water supplies and assesses the history of water resource development for five large U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, San Antonio, and Atlanta. The article demonstrates the ecologic impacts of water development practices commonly used in the twentieth century, and discusses options to increase water supply in less ecologically damaging ways than have been used in the past. They include: water conservation programs that reduce per capita water use; storing and extracting water in less ecologically damaging ways; and, limiting human alteration of river flows to protect ecosystems.