phoenix — Officials in drought-stricken Arizona are moving to regulate groundwater use on the state’s western edge where wells are drying up.
The new rules allow for a management plan formed by the Arizona Department of Water Resources and local residents, in addition to water conservation requirements. It applies to water users in the basin, incl Fondomonte Saudi Agribusiness Companywhich draws all of its water from a basin in La Paz and Yuma provinces to grow alfalfa as an export crop.
These changes will not reverse groundwater decline. Rather, they are intended to slow the depletion of supplies through conservation mandates.
Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the designation of an active management district Monday during her annual address to the Legislature on its inauguration day. This followed a determination by the Arizona Department of Water Resources that low water levels were causing land within the Rangegrass Plain aquifer to sink, affecting the amount of water that could be held underground.
“We can no longer sit idly by while our rural communities go without help,” Hobbs said. “They deserve solutions and security, not another decade of inaction and uncertainty.”
Under this designation, water users in the Rangrass Plain groundwater basin will be required to track and report water use.
Carrie Ann Noeltner, La Paz County’s deputy assessor who lives in the basin and is a Republican, said she began saving money in anticipation of the need to drill a deeper well for her own property.
“What this does is give us some breathing room, as we won’t be able to put any more straws in this sink without serious oversight,” she said of the appointment.
Arizona’s groundwater management regulatory framework was enacted in 1980 with a focus on Tucson and Phoenix, where most people live. There, for example, housing developers have to prove a 100-year water supply before building.
Relaxed regulations in most rural areas, where water users can pump it mainly to their hearts’ content, have attracted large-scale farming operations. Hobbs, a Democrat, toured Fondomonte’s operations last May, where she called on the Republican-led Legislature to pass a bill deal It aims to give many of the state’s rural areas a more flexible alternative to active management areas.
Some Republicans saw it as a threat to the local economy, agriculture, and property values. The talks stopped.
The new set of regulations is subject to challenge administratively or through the courts. that it second Such a name has been given by Hobbes ever since he became governor.
Philip Bashaw, CEO of the Arizona Farm Bureau, is weary of the changes. The agricultural industry will be the most directly and directly affected by regulations that he considers to be too stringent.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Fondomonte or if it’s family farms that have been in that area for a long time,” he said. “Everyone will end up with the same restrictions.”
A map from the Arizona Department of Water Resources shows that land subsidence in the basin is most pronounced at Fondomonte Ranches.
Following the governor’s announcement, Fondomonte spokesman Barrett Marson said the company — a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Al Marri — will continue to adhere to all state and local regulations. He said the company has invested heavily in water efficiency at the long-standing farm.
“We are proud supporters of Arizona agriculture and the farming community,” he said in a statement.
District Attorney Chris Mayes accused the company of being a public nuisance. It filed a lawsuit in 2024, alleging that groundwater pumping in Fondomonte threatened the public health, safety and infrastructure of the area. Fondomonte said the allegations are baseless, and the lawsuit is an attempt to bypass the Legislature and implement water policy through the courts.