Thousands of acres of lush alfalfa fields spread across the desert valleys of western Arizona. A Saudi Arabian dairy company pumps groundwater from dozens of wells to grow thirsty crops.
The company Fondomonte is the largest user of water in the Lane Gras Plain groundwater basin and ships hay overseas to feed cattle in the Middle East. Like other landowners in the area, it is allowed to pump unlimited amounts of water from the aquifer, even though water levels are falling.
That could soon change, as Arizona officials consider a plan to begin regulating groundwater pumping in a rural area 160 miles west of Phoenix.
At a rally in mid-December, more than 150 La Paz County residents sat in folding chairs and listened as state officials highlighted the severity of declining groundwater levels by showing graphs of steep declines.
“This is where we’re seeing the most pumping. This is where we’re seeing the most decline,” said Ryan Mitchell, head of hydrology for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, pointing to the precipitous drop in aquifer levels.
The data from the well was telling. In one well, water levels have dropped 242 feet since the early 1980s. The other dropped 136 feet.
Mitchell said current pumping in the Lanegras Basin is not sustainable, with the ground sinking as much as two inches a year in some places.
“This is a worrying trend,” he says. “The water balance of the watershed is out of balance and severely out of balance.”
As he read the numbers, there was a commotion in the crowded hall.
In recent years, some residents’ home wells have broken down, prompting them to look for solutions.
The problem of groundwater depletion is widespread in many rural areas of Arizona. Gov. Katie Hobbs said Arizona must address unrestricted overpumping by “out-of-state companies” and said the decline in the Lane Gras Basin is particularly severe, with water depleted more than it can naturally replenish in the desert.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources has proposed new measures to conserve groundwater in this area of La Paz County. It would ban irrigation of additional farmland in the area and require landowners with large wells to start measuring and reporting the amount of water they use. Other measures would also be taken, such as establishing local advisory committees and developing water use reduction plans.
Some residents argue that these types of regulations are outdated.
“Right now we can do whatever we want,” said Bowes resident Dennis Beasley. “It’s really the West of Water.”
She believes this change will provide much-needed control and ensure the health of her and others in the community of about 1,100 people.
In 2014, Fondomonte, a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai. This is part of a trend. This is because Saudi companies are depleting the groundwater in Saudi Arabia and, as a result, the entire country.
An attorney for a company that owns 3,600 acres in Vicksburg. The company also leases 3,088 acres of state farmland and 3,163 acres of state rangeland in the Lane Gras Basin under leases expiring in 2031.
The Office of State Lands charges the company about $83,000 a year under these lease agreements, said Lynn Cordova, an agency spokeswoman.
Some residents who spoke believed it was wrong for Fondomonte to be able to use its water to grow hay and export it around the world. Others see no problem with having foreign companies nearby, but think the region needs to switch to crops that use less water.
“This is a desert and the water is running dry,” said Misha Melehes, who lives near Bowes. “You’re bleeding. I need a tourniquet while you wait in the emergency room.”
Some fear the state-imposed rules could reduce farms and even ship water to Arizona’s fast-growing cities.
Kelly James, who lives nearby, called the proposal a “water grab.” He urged the state to delay its decision and allow local residents to develop their own plans.
They point out that Arizona has a history of cities that once relied on farms finding a way to survive, and that under state law the area adjacent to Lane Gras is already set aside as a preserve to support urban growth.
The province’s proposal says nothing about transporting water from the Lane Gras Basin. In fact, doing so would be illegal under current law. However, this does not allay the concerns of some people in the area.
“I have great doubts,” said Robert Favela, who uses a well to water a bamboo grove on his five-acre property in Vicksburg. “Believe me, they’re going to take our water away.”
Jenny Housley, who with her husband Larry owns a 40-acre horse ranch near Bowes, worries the area will lose its agricultural industry and eventually water to developing subdivisions and pools.
“We believe that to sustain our country, we need to farm in places like La Paz County,” she said.
Larry Hancock, a farmer who grows crops in the neighboring McMullen Valley, wrote a letter to the state making similar claims. He said producers were already working “because it’s in our best interest to conserve water” and imposing regulations would cause economic harm.
Tom Buschatke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, is expected to announce a decision on whether to begin regulating groundwater in the area by Jan. 17.
Representatives for Mr. Fondomonte did not speak at the meeting. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Efforts to limit groundwater depletion are a complex challenge for communities and state agencies across much of Arizona, California, and other Western states.
In recent years, large-scale agricultural operations have been carried out in Arizona, putting an increasing strain on the region’s scarce water resources. Using satellite data, scientists estimated that the Colorado River basin has depleted since 2003 by as much as the total capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.
Arizona has restricted the use of pumps in Phoenix, Tucson and other urban areas since the state adopted .
However, this law left groundwater completely unregulated in about 80% of states and freely available to large agricultural companies and investors.
Since taking office in 2023, Hobbs has supported efforts to limit overpumping in areas where aquifers are severely depleted. In January, the administration installed a new reservoir in the Wilcox Groundwater Basin in southeastern Arizona, and Hobbs this month appointed five local leaders to lead a program to help develop plans to reduce water use.
“I feel like it gives us hope for a sustainable future,” said farmer Ed Currie, a member of the Wilcox council. “It gave us strength.”
A few months ago, Hobbs spoke with residents about ways to protect the area’s water. The Democratic governor took another step to curb water use, eliminating 3,520 acres of state-owned farmland in western Arizona’s Butler Valley. The decision came after the state revealed it was charging discounted rates below market rates.
The former hay fields now remain dry, with weeds poking out of the parched soil. Workers have removed pumps from leased land, and the power lines that once provided power to the wells are left unused in the desert.
Fondomonte continues to farm nearby, but the company is owned by Arizona Atty. General Chris Mays argued that over-pumping was causing groundwater loss, land subsidence, and poor water quality, in violation of the law.
The company uses at least 36 wells, which account for more than 80% of all water pumped in the Lane Gras Basin, according to the complaint.
Mr. Fondomonte’s lawyers argued in court documents that the attorney general does not have the authority to regulate groundwater pumping and that the lawsuit is an attempt to “introduce politics” into the court.
La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin, who has long pushed to address the issue, said the Department of Water Resources’ proposal is a way to finally protect water for area residents.
“More and more wells are starting to run dry. If we don’t slow this down, what will it be like in 20 years?” Irwin said.
Nancy Blevins, who lives near Fondomonte Farms, agrees.
In 2019, she and her family. She spent months traveling back and forth to friends’ houses, filling water bottles and taking the water home.
Eventually, they purchased a new pump and installed it at a lower level in the well, restoring tap water. She still stores bottled water in a shed next to her mobile home in case her well dries up again.
“We should start regulating it,” Blevins said. “People are seeing lower water levels around here.”
Unless something changes, she says, the water will eventually run out and “future generations will suffer.”
