In general, the demand for water is increasing as supplies become less reliable. Increased urbanization and suburban development in EID's service area places greater demand on water supplies and creates more wastewater and stormwater that must be dealt with. Agriculture, while grazing has become less common, other potentially water intensive crops have become more popular, such as fruit trees and grapes in orchards and vineyards. Agriculture, in addition to the area's naturally scenic qualities, has also increased tourism and recreational use. The population in the area is seasonal and places greater demand on the water system during the time of the year when supplies are most scarce: summer and fall. Climate change has the potential to reduce the water available for storage, and the area has few other water resources, with many areas remote enough to be isolated from the piping required to supply water from the rest of the Central Valley Project.
