Kathleen Ferris studies water policy at Arizona State University. She knows all about her AMAs.
“The benefits of attending an AMA depend on who you’re talking to,” says Ferris. “But for one thing, it means you can’t dig wells and pump as much groundwater as you want indefinitely.”
If someone already pumped water in the area before becoming an AMA, they are exempt from groundwater rights.
“Anyone who wants to drill a new well must obtain a permit from the Arizona Department of Water Resources, demonstrate that using the water will not cause harm to others, and must also have the right to pump.” said Ferris. .
Tara Morrow
Tara Morrow says she can feel the effects of sinking water tables. The road near my house is cracked and the water pressure is low.
Arizona already has five AMAs, and most of the Arizona population lives in one. Phoenix and Tucson are both in his AMAs. The AMA does not cover residential wells.
“It’s not that farming will go out of business. It won’t happen,” Ferris said.
The idea is to keep what you already have. It also encourages farmers to dig ditches, clear land and use other water efficient techniques.
“It uses water efficiently and [with] It’s a reasonable conservation measure,” said Ferris.
The option to create a new AMA has always been built into law, but so far no one has attempted it.
Beau Hodai is a journalist and researcher living in the area who didn’t know what an active management area was until fairly recently.
He lives in what is called the Douglas Irrigation Non-Expansion Area. This means that the Douglas Basin, where he lives, has a cap on the amount of land that can be irrigated. Wilcox Basin does not have that designation.
He spoke with officials from the Arizona Department of Water Resources and learned that there is no limit to how much water can be pumped, even though it is specified. That would require him to make the area an AMA.
Brian Luna
Bryan Luna owns an auto and tractor parts store and a pecan farm in Cochise County. He used to own five pecan farms, but now he’s down to one. He says it’s because the water on his farm is running out as large dairy farms buy more land and dig deeper wells in the area.
“Well, that’s interesting, I said. How will the AMA come to be? I think people want to know about it,” Hodai said.
So he and others, including Rebekah Wilce, who also has a background in journalism, did the research.
They filed a record request and received documented complaints from across the region about depleted wells and the high cost of digging deeper.
They also found that some large growers are doing what they call an irrigable acre alternative.
Under the rules that already existed, if a landowner did not irrigate part of their land, they could apply to irrigate the same number of acres elsewhere.
Sean Evert
Shaun Ebert raises cattle and horses in Cochise County. He says he had to start digging deeper more regularly to keep the water pumping out of the well consistently.
“The way it’s supposed to work is that part of my property is constantly flooded. I can’t do anything about it. I have irrigation rights, but I can’t grow on it.” said Hodai.
Imagine the large circles you see in farmland with pivots for irrigation. The leftover corners of the square land do not have that water.
Large growers used to apply and get approval to take acres of these corners and use them on land that had never been irrigated.
Hodai’s group, called the Arizona Water Defenders, created a PAC and began collecting signatures to get votes for the AMA in both watersheds this November. Since then he has been away from the campaign.
