The Inverse effect of population growth on water use in Utah

The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute projects that Utah will experience rapid population growth over the next 45 years. It is commonly assumed that this sudden increase in population will subsequently lead to a sudden increase in the demand for water, thereby creating a need for new water diversions. However, few papers have empirically tested this assumption. This thesis uses regression analysis to examine what effect population growth had on water demand in Utah from 1985 to 2015. My findings suggest that Utah's population growth lead to decreased total water use, and that this effect was driven by large reductions in agricultural water use. These findings open up an alternate path to water managers and decision makers to prepare their communities for accelerated growth.