It came of age in the post-Civil War years as settlers took the nearby Santa Fe Trail to hardscrabble western towns like Dodge to find their patch of America. Encouraged by the government's offer of free land, settlers came despite the challenge of finding water in the High Plains. It became the Queen of Cow Towns, a place where even if water didn't flow freely, booze did. Today, Dodge is growing, but it can't sprawl because water is scarce. Development outside city limits can't tap in to the city's municipal water lines.
Wells have to be dug.
Because of concern over dwindling water supplies, there are restrictions on permits to dig wells that can support big developments. But even in this place where the lack of water tightens the reins on sprawl, people push the limits.