As a result, these build-to-rent projects have been booming in Arizona. And Arizona's water rules only apply to subdivisions where the land is broken up to build homes for sale. SOMMER: These homes will be rented, not sold, to homeowners. HANCOCK: We don't need to assure water supply because it's one lot. Even with the water situation, Hancock didn't have to worry about a water supply for this project. He's been building homes in Arizona for more than four decades. SOMMER: Greg Hancock is president of Hancock Builders. GREG HANCOCK: This is a great product to rent. SOMMER: At a new development, construction workers are putting siding on single-story homes. SOMMER: And because building in town hasn't actually stopped. ![]() It's just we have to manage it, have to be frugal with the water we have. MCFARLAND: Casa Grande will continue to grow. So they stopped issuing water guarantees for new subdivisions, which is what they'd need to get built. Most of it is pumped from underground aquifers. SOMMER: Four years ago, state water regulators found the demand had grown so much, water is going to run short. MCFARLAND: It's part of a consumer protection law that says that in Arizona, if you're a consumer, we're going to guarantee you have a hundred years' worth of water. To build a subdivision here, builders have to show the project has a water supply for a hundred years. SOMMER: But the white parcels are out of luck. MCFARLAND: So these are all areas that single-family homes can be built in. SOMMER: McFarland unrolls a map of the city, which looks like a patchwork quilt. SOMMER: But where to put the housing? That's the issue. MCFARLAND: As the industry is really rushing in to the community, we have a huge need for housing. New jobs are opening up nearby at electric car and battery manufacturing plants. It's the fastest-growing county in Arizona. SOMMER: Craig McFarland is mayor of Casa Grande, a city in Pinal County. And a hotter climate is straining the water supply like never before.ĬRAIG MCFARLAND: It's hard. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: We need to get the water. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Lack of water assurances should be warning enough. ![]() UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I think we all get these questions, but is there water for it? LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE: If you want to build housing in Pinal County, Ariz., south of Phoenix, there's one topic that always comes up in public meetings. But as Lauren Sommer reports from NPR's Climate Desk, there's a loophole. The state has one of the strongest laws in the country to limit growth where water is scarce. A two-decade drought is straining water supplies there, and there is a big demand for housing. Where should new housing be built as the climate gets hotter? That is a question Arizona has been grappling with.
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