Written by Brett Jaspers, KJZZ

Central Arizona is experiencing an economic boom, with more people, more housing, and more water needs. There are also long-term droughts, Less water will be purchased from the Central Arizona Project canal system.. I'm walking around the suburbs of Phoenix looking for a new bucket.

Other parts of the state are being told, “Don't come here.”

“They're trying to come and take away from rural counties, and that's completely wrong in my opinion,” said Holly Irwin, county supervisor for La Paz County in far western Arizona. Her district is where the Colorado River flows alongside lush irrigated farmland and small towns.

Rural communities and metropolitan suburbs collide

Irwin is rebelling. A plan to transfer water rights from several private farms there to the Town of Queen Creek.will probably never go back.

For her, it's a slippery slope.

“There are already people waiting in line to see if this passes,” she said. “The moment you go through that first gate, it’s like a floodgate opens and you can never close it again.”

The city of Queen Creek, the buyer here, says the purchase will support sustainable growth.

“What we're trying to do is pump groundwater and get it as close to zero as possible,” said Paul Gardner, Queen Creek's utility director. “We’re not going to get there completely, but we want to be as self-sufficient in renewable resources as possible.”

Like other cities and towns outside metro Phoenix, Queen Creek has a population of Significant increase, over 60% Since 2010 (but some By attaching an existing house).

The town pays $10,000 per acre-foot for water rights tied to agricultural land. That amount is 2,083.1 acre-feet of Colorado River water, totaling approximately $20.8 million. (One acre-foot is roughly equivalent to what her family of four uses in one year.)

When asked if it was fair for the water to go to the highest bidder, Gardner said: And we don't set the market. And the market is the market itself. ”

Experts say the price is not prohibitive, considering that the amount pays for the right to use the water in perpetuity.

Investors aim to cash out

There are key players at the center of this deal. Greenstone, a Phoenix-based water investment company, owns the farmland through its subsidiary GSC Farms. If successful, the project will receive about $20.8 million in water payments, about twice what it spent on land.

Greenstone is one of the few private investment firms looking at water scarcity in Western countries as a money-making opportunity. Principals of Greenstone College declined to be interviewed for this article.

The company has hired prominent Phoenix real estate attorney Grady Gammage.rear A public hearing on the deal will be held in November.he rejected the idea that the transfer of these particular water rights would negatively impact rural development in Arizona.

“Frankly, the amount of water out there is huge,” he says. “Existing river communities only use about 40% of the existing municipal supply.”

Gammage said this particular situation is unique and won't result in the slippery slope that local advocates fear.

“To the knowledge of GSC Farm, LLC and the Town of Queen Creek, no other water transfers to central Arizona are currently planned, nor have the commenters identified any potential such transfers.” attorneys for the LLC wrote in a written statement. Responses to public comments.

But this is likely not the only land Greenstone owns in western Arizona. An LLC with the same Phoenix address as Greenstone owns more than 1,000 acres in Yuma County, just south of La Paz, according to county records.

Like Irwin, many Yuma County residents are adamantly opposed to the move.

Development pressure continues in Phoenix metro

Water moves this way, but there are some important differences. has been tried before. The main reason is the lack of water for new development in central Arizona. Increasingly expensive and rare, especially in communities on the outer edges of Phoenix. Nevertheless, people are moving there in large numbers.

“Housing development in these areas tends to be lower cost than in older cities,” said Sarah Porter of Arizona State University. “And those developers need to find a source of water before they can develop.”

New developments in central Arizona must demonstrate a 100-year supply and plan to replenish pumped groundwater. One way to do that is to register your home with an agency called the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD).The agency tasked with replenishing the groundwater it pumps consistently raised the price.too In search of more water.

Towns like Queen Creek can reduce their dependence on CAGRD by securing their own renewable energy supply.

Local legislators like Regina Cobb of Kingman say central Arizona towns need to live within their means.

“Queen Creek has a budget right now. And they're not working within the budget. They're saying, 'We need more, we need more, and we'll get more.'” she said. “And they go to great lengths to make that happen.”

Is a compromise possible?

Robert Glennon of the University of Arizona has written extensively. About water market And we believe that such transfers can work if designed in a certain way. He believes water buyers can put their money toward what rural areas want, such as infrastructure to help farmers use water more efficiently.

“I’m a big fan of the market,” Glennon said. “And there are ways to do this and ways not to do this.”

The proposal does not include any additional local investment, and GSC Farm's response to public comments did not include any such plans. Either way, it's also unclear whether it will make a difference for people in western Arizona. Cobb said he plans to fight the deal all the way to the federal Interior Department, which must approve the transfer of water rights.

Most observers believe Mr. Interior will focus on whether the Arizona Department of Water Resources recommends the deal. The ministry has until July 9 to make a decision.

An emailed statement from the department said, “Prior to making a proposal, the Director will utilize all of his allotted time to review and consider all collected data and public comments regarding the proposed relocation. I intend to do so.''

This is a pivotal moment for those with water, those who need water, and those in between who want their water investments to bear fruit.

This article is part of a series on water investments in the West produced by Colorado's KUNC, Aspen Journalism, Arizona's KJZZ and the Nevada Independent.