Arizona could limit groundwater pumping where Saudi company farms hay

VICKSBURG, Ariz. — Thousands of acres of lush alfalfa fields spread across the desert valley in Western Arizona, where a Saudi Arabian dairy company grows the thirsty crop by drawing groundwater from dozens of wells.

The Fondomonte company is the largest water user in the Ranegras Plain groundwater basin and ships hay abroad to feed its cows in the Middle East. Like other landowners in the area, it was allowed to pump unlimited amounts from underground, even if water levels decreased.

That could soon change as Arizona officials consider a plan to begin regulating groundwater pumping in a rural area 100 miles west of Phoenix.

At a meeting in mid-December, more than 150 residents of La Paz County sat in folding chairs listening to state officials underscore the severity of declines in groundwater levels by showing graphs with downward-sloping lines.

“That’s where the heaviest pumping is. That’s where we’re seeing the most decline,” said Ryan Mitchell, chief hydrologist for the Arizona Department of Water Resources. charts falling aquifer levels.

Data from the wells told the story: Water levels in one well had dropped a staggering 242 feet since the early 1980s. Another fell 136 feet.

Structures that store alfalfa at Fondomonte’s farm in Vicksburg, Ariz.

Mitchell said current pumping in the Ranegras basin is unsustainable and is causing the land surface to sink as much as 5 inches per year in some places.

“This is a worrying trend,” he said. “The water budget of the basin is unbalanced, seriously unbalanced.”

As he read the numbers, murmurs arose in the crowded hall.

Wells in some residents’ households in recent years dried upIt forces them to struggle to find solutions.

The problem of groundwater depletion is common in many rural areas of Arizona. Governor Katie Hobbs said Arizona needs to address the problem of unrestricted overpumping by “out-of-state companies.” He also said that the decline in the Ranegras basin was particularly severe, accompanied by water depletion. almost 10 times faster more than is naturally replenished in the desert.

Arizona Department of Water Resources a new “active management areaProtecting groundwater in this part of La Paz County would prohibit irrigation of additional farmland in the area and require landowners with high-capacity wells to begin measuring and reporting how much water they use. It will also introduce other measures, including creating a local advisory council and developing a plan to reduce water use.

Some citizens say that such regulations are delayed.

“It’s open to everyone now,” said Denise Beasley, a resident of the town of Bouse. “It’s just the Wild West of water.”

Denise Beasley Bouse stands outside her home in Ariz.

He believes the change will bring much-needed controls and help protect the health of himself and others in his community of about 1,100 people.

Fondomonte, part of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Arizona started agricultural activities This is part of a trend: Saudi companies buying agricultural land from abroad Because groundwater is depleting in Saudi Arabia and as a result the country Cultivation of alfalfa and other forage crops is prohibited domestically.

A lawyer for the company in question He owns 3,600 acres in Vicksburg. The company also leases 3,088 acres of state agricultural land and 3,163 acres of state grazing land in the Ranegras basin under leases that expire in 2031.

Grant Greatorex fills jugs with purified drinking water at the water filling station at Bouse RV Park in Bouse, Ariz., and says it tastes better than the water he gets from his home well.

The State Department of Lands charges the company about $83,000 annually under those leases, said Lynn Cordova, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Some citizens speaking at the meeting hearing I think it is wrong for Fondomonte to use water to grow hay and export it to the world. Others do not see any problem in having a foreign company as a neighbor, but believe that the region should switch to crops that consume less water.

“This is a desert and our water is drying up,” said Misha Melehes, who lives near Bouse. “We’re bleeding. We need a tourniquet while we wait in the emergency room.”

Others fear state-imposed rules could lead to farms shrinking and even diverting water to Arizona’s fast-growing cities.

An alfalfa field owned by Fondomonte in Vicksburg, Ariz.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

Kelly James, who lives nearby, called the proposal a “water grab.” He called on the state to delay the decision and allow locals to develop their own plans.

He and others pointed out that Arizona has a history of cities finding different ways. buy water farms were previously affiliated with and under state law. three groundwater basins Areas adjacent to Ranegras are currently set aside as reserves to support urban growth.

The state proposal says nothing about transporting water from the Ranegras basin. In fact, doing so would be illegal under current law. But that doesn’t allay the concerns of some people in the area.

“I have a lot of doubts,” said Robert Favela, who uses his well to irrigate a bamboo field on his 5-acre property in Vicksburg. “Believe me, they will take our water.”

Larry Housley pumps water into buckets for the horses at his farm near Bouse, Ariz.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

Jennie Housley, who owns a 40-acre horse farm near Bouse with her husband, Larry, fears the area could lose its agricultural industry and eventually lose its water to growing subdivisions and swimming pools.

“I believe we need to farm in places like La Paz County to keep our country going,” he said.

Larry Hancock, a farmer who grows crops in the neighboring McMullen Valley, wrote a letter to the state making a similar claim. He said growers are already “conserving water because it’s in our interest” and that imposing regulations would cause economic harm.

Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke is scheduled to announce his decision by Jan. 17 on whether to begin regulating groundwater in the area.

No representative of Fondomonte spoke at the meeting. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Efforts to prevent groundwater depletion pose complex challenges for communities and government agencies in Arizona, California and many other Western states.

large farming operations extended In recent years in Arizona global warming has created increasing pressures on scarce water in the region. Scientists using satellite data have been using satellite data since 2003. amount of groundwater The amount of water depleted in the Colorado River Basin is comparable to the total capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.

Arizona has limited pumping in Phoenix, Tucson and other urban areas since the state passed a new law. Groundwater law in 1980.

But the law left groundwater completely unregulated in about 80 percent of the state, allowing large agribusinesses and investors to exploit it. drill a well and pump as much water as they want.

Since Hobbs took office in 2023, he has supported efforts to prevent over-pumping in places where groundwater is severely depleted. In January, his administration installed a new administration landscaped area It’s in the Willcox groundwater basin in southeastern Arizona, and Hobbs this month appointed five local leaders to work on a project. advisory council This will help develop a plan to reduce water use.

“We think this gives us hope for a sustainable future,” said farmer Ed Curry, a member of Willcox council. “It gave us strength”

Luis Machado removes a pipe after testing a water well in Butler Valley, Ariz. Workers recently dismantled pumps from wells in the area following the end of a lease of state-owned Arizona farmland to the Saudi company Fondomonte.

Hobbs a few months ago Toured La Paz District and spoke to residents about ways to preserve area water. The Democratic governor has taken other steps to rein in water use, putting an end to it. Fondomonte’s rentals 3,520 acres of state-owned farmland in the Butler Valley in western Arizona. The decision followed a Arizona Republic investigation This revealed that the government was charging discounted prices below market.

Now those old hay fields are dry and weeds are emerging from the arid soil. Workers are dismantling pumps on leased land, and power lines that once fed wells lie unused in the desert.

An alfalfa farm in the Butler Valley is left without water after Arizona ended leases on state-owned farmland granted to the Fondomonte company.

While Fondomonte continues to farm nearby, the company also facing a lawsuit By Arizona Lawyer. Gen. Kris Mayes claims that over-pumping violates the law by causing groundwater depletion, soil subsidence and worsening water quality.

The lawsuit states that the company uses at least 36 wells, accounting for more than 80% of all pumping in the Ranegras basin.

Fondomonte’s lawyers argued in court documents that the attorney general lacks the authority to regulate groundwater pumping and that the case was an attempt to “drag the court into a political issue.”

La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin, who has been trying to solve the problem for years, said the Department of Water Resources’ proposal is finally a way to preserve water for residents.

“You’re starting to see more and more wells running out. If we don’t try to slow this down, where will we be in 20 years?” Irwin said.

Nancy Blevins, who lives near the Fondomonte farm, agrees.

Him and his family in 2019 They watched their wells dry up. For months, he drove back and forth to a friend’s house, filling plastic bottles and bringing the water home.

Nancy Blevins in front of her home in La Paz County, Arizona.

They eventually purchased a new pump and installed it at a lower level of their well, restoring tap water. He still keeps bottled water in a shed next to his mobile home in case the well runs dry again.

“They should start regulating it,” Blevins said. “People’s water levels are dropping around here.”

If things don’t change, the water will eventually run out and “future generations will be in trouble,” he said.