This is becoming a familiar sight across the Omaha metro.

It’s 102 degrees in Omaha at the time of this posting, and many are hoping the forecast for rain on Wednesday comes to fruition.

In a July 19 blog post, Kaid Benfield explores the relationship between sprawl and drought, suggesting that smart growth can help lessen the impact of the latter. Benfield is the director of sustainable communities at the National Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. He writes:

“Now I’m not naive enough to claim that the way we have built suburbs and cities over the last several decades is a proximate cause of drought, but sprawling land use can exacerbate some of its impacts, at least in two ways. First, the large-lot residential development characteristic of sprawl uses significantly more water than do neighborhoods built to a more walkable scale, contributing to water shortages. The second way in which suburban sprawl exacerbates the impacts of drought is by spreading more pavement around watersheds, sending billions of gallons of rainwater into streams and rivers as polluted runoff, rather than into the soil to replenish groundwater.”

Read the entire post here.

Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts.