They can't get water. These water woes have several causes, explains Ed Pokorney, director of planning for the Denver Water Department. First and foremost, of course, is the rapid pace of development and population pressure. This effectively deeds surface water rights to the individual with the oldest claim. All the good surface water rights are gone.
Agriculture plays a major role in the water shortage.
In Colorado, for example, farmers often have first rights to surface water. But most of their farms lie downstream of cities. Pokorney explains that a city such as Denver might have to buy surface water from a farmer, then pipe it 50 miles upstream, rather than simply grabbing the water from a passing river. The last drop Water woes tend to have the greatest impact on rural towns and scattered sites. These areas often have no access to surface water.