A desert metropolis of suburbs nearing the two million residents mark, Perth is quickly draining its underground aquifers to keep its gardens green.
"The Australian of the year 2007, environmentalist Tim Flannery, once predicted that Perth in Western Australia could become the world's first ghost metropolis, its population forced to abandon the city due to lack of water."
"And, ironically, although it's a desert climate, Perth prides itself on being a garden city, boasting vast expanses of beautifully kept lawns and parks complete with water hungry plants and flowers."
"There is a joke doing the rounds that goes: the good news is we'll all soon be drinking recycled sewage. The bad news is there will not be enough to go round. These may be desperate times for Perth's water supply, but the city is in the fortunate position of being fairly wealthy with a government that is prepared to invest in expensive water projects. The latest is a state of the art desalination plant that came online last November and will supply 17% of the city's drinking water."
FULL STORY: Metropolis strives to meet its thirst
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research