specifically. Phoenix continues to grow exponentially because Phoenicians don't have to pay the true, free-market cost of living there -- the rest of us heavily subsidize their water, the scarcest resource in the area. Ironically, residents of Phoenix actually enjoy the cheapest water of the 500 largest water districts in the US:

"Many factors account for [this], but here is perhaps the most important one: In Arizona (and throughout the West), water costs have long been heavily subsidized by Uncle Sam. Federal and state funds shored up the construction of the giant canal that connects the Colorado River to Arizona cities more than 50 years ago. In turn, those cities paid, and still pay, a small portion of the infrastructure costs that support them...prices haven’t been adjusted in Phoenix to reflect water's...scarcity in the West."

http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/why-water-costs-100-times-more-in-flint-than-in-phoenix-water-value-crisis/463152/

Top Ten Most Expensive Water Providers as of January 2015

Rank Entity State Population Ownership Annual Bill

1. Flint MI 124,943 $910.05
2. Padre Dam Municipal Water District CA 96,589 $826.94
3. American Water – West PA 93,368 $792.84
4. Pittsburgh PA 516,411 $792.84
5. Lake Scranton PA 134,570 $792.84
6. Norristown PA 94,724 $792.84
7. Aqua America – Main PA 784,939 $782.38
8. Goleta Water District CA 87,000 $736.62
9. Monterey CA 94,700 $716.18
10. Kanawha Valley WV 217,959 $710.63

Top Ten Least Expensive Water Providers as of January 2015

491. Toho Water Authority FL 110,102 $123.96
492. Memphis TN 671,450 $120.71
493. Medford OR 90,932 $117.84
494. Hagerstown MD 88,000 $116.48
495. Miami-Dade FL 2,100,000 $116.46
496. Jefferson Parrish - District 1 LA 308,362 $104.40
497. Jefferson Parrish - District 2 LA 209,972 $104.40
498. Hempstead NY 110,000 $101.74
499. Clovis CA 102,499 $100.80
500. Phoenix AZ 1,500,000 $84.24

Source: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/report_state_of_public_water.pdf , page 10