The central premise of my book project is that, despite the enormous western water problems I regularly chronicle here and in the various other places I publish, I expect that we’ll do OK in the long run. My optimism comes from the way communities, when they approach the edge of the water supply cliff, show the ability to adapt to shortage.

One of my favorite case studies is El Paso, which in the face of some pretty nasty drought conditions is cranking up its desal plant. From El Paso Inc.:

For the first time since it opened in 2007, El Paso Water Utility’s desalination plant has been running at nearly full capacity this month.

And without it, the city would have been in trouble, the utility’s president and CEO, Ed Archuleta, said Friday.

“People have asked me when the desal plant is going to run at full capacity,” he said. “Well, here it is. If we didn’t have that plant, we would be in deep trouble in that part of the city.