Water

So the RGJ had a nice little article on how the democrats would like to have a question about controlled growth in regards to water resources on the upcoming ballot. http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/NEWS05/808270407/0/NEWS18
Here's what I don't get: apparently 31% of Republicans are in favor of this question appearing on the ballot, while 83% of Democrats are. Why such a large discrepancy? I'm not one to divide between Republican and Democrat -- we are all individuals with our own individual belief and I hate relegating people to one end or the other. But I personally think that building with the resources you have (ie water) and being able to continue to supply those resources once the structure is built is common sense. We live in a desert people. We shouldn't be stupid just becuase we want more money -- and that could lead me on to a discussion on how our economy should not rest so heavily on the housing market. But it is somewhat insane for so many Northern Nevada Counties to be selling water rights to Clark County (thank you Las Vegas) because they can't support their size with the water they have. And Washoe County is catching up. Maybe not to the point of buying other people's water, but there are some issues with outlying areas, well water usage and the new city that is being proposed.

So maybe someone on the Republican side, who isn't seeing this in the common sense way that I am, can help explain why?