[nth]

I am shocked to see that water usage has hit a peak and experts believed water usage can actually start declining without hurting the economy from growing.

How many people would have thought this was possible?

USGS water usage table

[ConsumptionJane]

At least in the western US, where water is scarce but water law is hefty, many basins are already overappropriated so developers have to go on the market to acquire water for their projects. Normally this entails the conversion of agricultural rights into municipal and industrial uses. It is probably the most common kind of water rights transaction that exists today and the source for most of this water is underground. M&I are considered "higher and better" uses of water by law in some states so there is little objection if someone wants to buy a ranch and move the water that is already being extracted somewhere else. In this way, sprawl and growth can continue without there being an actual increase in the consumption of water, just a different use. Of course over time, there will be fewer and fewer ranches available for conversion until someday large cities will have to propose projects like Las Vegas just to stay afloat.
Southern Nevada Water Authority Groundwater Project

[nth]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ConsumptionJane', 'A')t least in the western US, where water is scarce but water law is hefty, many basins are already overappropriated so developers have to go on the market to acquire water for their projects. Normally this entails the conversion of agricultural rights into municipal and industrial uses. It is probably the most common kind of water rights transaction that exists today and the source for most of this water is underground. M&I are considered "higher and better" uses of water by law in some states so there is little objection if someone wants to buy a ranch and move the water that is already being extracted somewhere else. In this way, sprawl and growth can continue without there being an actual increase in the consumption of water, just a different use. Of course over time, there will be fewer and fewer ranches available for conversion until someday large cities will have to propose projects like Las Vegas just to stay afloat.
Southern Nevada Water Authority Groundwater Project

[ConsumptionJane]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')he biggest noticeable efficiency has been water used for cooling. Industrial water use has gone down dramaticly. This to me points to that the biggest area that efficiency can be gain is in business/industrial use.