Water Hog Metropolis

Critics say Atlanta's rapid population growth, coupled with blithe disregard for water conservation, is straining the region's ecosystem...Atlanta is not the only city grappling with water shortages. In 2003, a Government Accountability Office report on the nation's freshwater supply found that 36 states anticipated water shortages in the next decade...Yet while cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Denver have ushered in water conservation measures -- including offering incentives, installing high-efficiency toilets and low-flow shower heads, and increasing monthly water bills for big water users -- experts say Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing metropolitan regions in the country, has been particularly shortsighted...Conservationists' suggestion that the state should prohibit building if no water is available rankles developers and the business community."