Pete Rausch, head of Monett’s water department and head of the coalition’s technical committee, said: “What this tells me is that we’re going to need multiple reservoirs.”

Road test

With more people will come more traffic. It’s likely that the state won’t have much money for building new roads. The county’s highway infrastructure could be put to the test.

Dan Salisbury, with the Joplin office of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said: “With the completion of our Amendment 3 projects, we will be directing our funds to taking care of our system. We’ll fix bridges and maintain roads. There won’t be money for capacity improvements. If the population growth is as high as that, it will accelerate congestion in our system.”

Amendment 3, passed in 2004, was a statewide initiative to raise money for road and bridge work.

The city of Joplin stays on top of population projections to plan for the future.

“It’s very important to look at population projections to determine what kind of services we need to provide in the future,” said Troy Bolander, city planner. “What’s just as important is to determine the makeup of that population increase. Will it be an aging population? If so, you will have to have adequate services for that group.

“Will your sewer and water infrastructure be able to accommodate the growth? These things can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to planning. If you grow too quickly, it can actually decrease the quality of life. You want growth, but you want manageable growth.”

6.7 million

Missouri is projected to have more than 6.7 million people by 2030 — a 21 percent increase over the figure from the 2000 census, according to the state Office of Administration. But Missouri is projected to grow at a slower rate than the national population. In the early 1900s, Missouri ranked fifth in total population in the nation. By the 2000 census, the state had slipped to 17th.

The census in 2010 will determine whether Missouri loses one of its nine congressional seats because of population growth elsewhere in the nation.