display larger Residents of the Douglas and Wilcox Basins say they are drilling deeper and more frequently for water as wells dry up as large companies expand their operations and drill deeper into their shared water supply. says.
Megan Miskowski/AZPM
Cochise County voters split their votes on future water management in the two basins.
Voters approved an active management area for the Douglas Basin but rejected an AMA proposal for the Wilcox Basin.
This is a bittersweet victory for Ash Dahlke, chairman of the Arizona Water Advocates, the political action committee that put forward the AMA proposal as a way to protect Cochise County’s natural waters from excessive withdrawal. She said she’s happy that Douglas passed the AMA, but she’s disappointed that Willcox’s AMA didn’t pass.
“The negative vote in Wilcox was very disappointing, especially as the water situation in that basin has deteriorated dramatically,” said Dahlke. “But at the same time, it was really exciting to see Douglas taking a groundwater conservation stance into the future.”
But for Rural Water Assurance chair Heather Floyd, who opposed the AMA proposal, Willcox wins.
“We are moving forward with some plans to mitigate the Wilcox water problem,” said Floyd. “We have already had one meeting with him and we will have another meeting here in a few weeks to plan how we can work with the public and locals to help him achieve control. Ask what you want to do.”
With the Arizona Water Defenders formed to begin campaigning and collecting signatures in the summer of 2021, Dahlke said the process of winning the initiative through voting is a year-long process.
AMA designation provides several state regulations on who can irrigate and how much water can be withdrawn from the basin. According to the Arizona Department of Water Resources webpage on his AMA proposal for Cochise County, if his AMA is approved by voters, only those who have legally irrigated the watershed five years before Aug. 30, 2022. can continue to irrigate the water. from that source.
Additionally, wells are regulated if they pump more than 35 gallons of water per minute. If a person has a groundwater permit or access rights to water, they are permitted to pump water in a well with a pumping capacity greater than 35 gallons per minute. However, if a person does not have a permit or rights to water, the well can only pump up to 35 gallons per minute and no dropovers are possible.
Dahlke said the primary reason for these AMA designations is to protect the county’s natural water resources from exploitation and revive past efforts to get legislation passed by Congress.
“In 2014 and 2015, the Wilcox area had a tremendous effort of local people, local stakeholders, farmers and local politicians who came together to pass this bill. and everyone approved it, and it was based on groundwater,” recalls Dahlke. “But when the bill came to the table, the local lawmakers involved in the process didn’t even let it go and didn’t move it forward in committee.”
As such, Dahlke said the PAC would like to have a citizen-based initiative to avoid that loophole.
“We were formed out of frustration that nothing was being done and past efforts were being kept closed,” she said.
However, Floyd said additional regulations would adversely affect farming and animal husbandry within the region, which makes up a large part of Wilcox’s local economy.
‘Regulations add hurdles. They just add rules and bureaucracy, but they don’t really help solve the problem,’ said Floyd.
Cochise County Development Services Director Daniel Coxworth said Wilcox relies heavily on agriculture.
“Wilcox is said to be a cow town,” said Coxworth. “This is the quintessential rural western farm cattle ranching community. I’m from Cochise County.
At the county level, he said: Hence the desire for AMA, AMA.
In August, Dahlke faced a court challenge from Floyd, who filed a complaint based on his signature on the AMA petition.
Before the election, Floyd said, “In the process of collecting signatures, I felt that many people had similar handwriting. “It wasn’t a signature, it was various and different, but according to the law, The person signing the petition actually had to take their own time and fill out the rest of the address portion etc. am.”
The Herald/Review reported that Cochise County Superior Court Judge Laura Cardinal said Floyd had missed the five-day deadline to file a petition to challenge the signature, and Cochise County elections director Lisa Mara and the county Recorder David has reported that he has dismissed the appeal. Stevens said the signature was valid.
Going forward, Dahlke said it plans to prepare for public participation on ADWR’s Groundwater Users Advisory Committee for the new AMA in Douglas. Floyd said Rural Water Assurance is also looking to involve Willcox watershed citizens in finding solutions for local, rather than statewide, management of the AMA.
