i didn't make that rule of thumb up. but yeah, it's within margin of error. change the crop or number of harvests or have less lawns and it could go either way.

i didn't make that rule of thumb up. but yeah, it's within margin of error. change the crop or number of harvests or have less lawns and it could go either way. the point is that, the water use for developed land is roughly the same either way. the secondary point is that growing something is productive and 50% of the water used by today's suburban lifestyle is just wasted. there's such a thing as "desert landscaping" vs. lawns. i point this out from time to time because where ever i first heard it (in the southwest US where these water fights and drought has been brewing for more than 50 years), it made and impression on me. it's also subtly snarky because we all hope and suppose that good government will save us from the perennial water crisis. but of course government is a machine that feeds and grows on tax revenue. and since fixing the urban and suburban sprawl doesn't align well with the government's feeding habits, here we are.