Saudi Arabia is not depleting Arizona.
far cry.
It’s a common misconception, fueled by news that the state of Arizona has offered Fondomonte, a Saudi Arabia-based company, to sell farmland on state trust land in La Paz County.
It’s encouraging to see so much interest in who uses our water and for what purpose.
But this discussion desperately needs context.
Did Arizona sell its water to Saudi Arabia?
No (although this is a frequently asked question on Google).
The state land agency leased land, not water, to Fondomonte. And it was done at a rate well below the market rate without sufficient explanation or transparency regarding the transaction.
It was a mistake.
Given how precious and limited groundwater is, Arizona asks if a fee can or should be charged for water in state trust lands that Arizona leases. Of course.
But if anything, Fondomonte’s deal points to a bigger problem. That is, state law permits virtually unlimited water pumping in rural areas.
We must slow the steady runoff of local groundwater. And that’s a lot more work than destroying one poorly crafted lease.
But aren’t Saudis pumping our water?
In a way, yes.
Fondmonte draws its water from the Butler Valley groundwater basin. This is one of the few places set aside for cities in central Arizona to drain over time.
But so are farmers in other transfer basins.
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Admittedly, Butler Valley is largely undeveloped. Fondomonte is estimated to be the largest user of water today, but the company has never fully disclosed how much it pumps.
It should be closer. So are states.
What we do know is that Fondmonte’s nearly 3,500 acres of land make up less than 2% of the watershed, making up about 5% of the watershed. Alfalfa hay in production in La Paz County.
A survey, scheduled for later this year, should give us a better picture of current supply and demand in the Butler Valley.
As of 2012, the basin has 6.5 million acre feet of water Available.
Why should cows in Saudi Arabia drink water?
That is also a natural question.
But keep in mind that just under 10% of the alfalfa produced in Arizona is exported, according to a research report by Russell Tronstad, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Arizona, and others.
Most of Arizona’s alfalfa is sent to local dairy farms to produce the milk primarily consumed by Arizonas.
And – with a twist – Saudi Arabia gets about 40% of the alfalfa and other forage crops we send abroad, according to Trondstad’s analysis of federal and state export data, but China is the bigger beneficiary. will account for 57% of feed exported from Arizona in 2021. .
Tronstad estimates that exported alfalfa accounts for 2% to 4.6% of all water used to irrigate Arizona’s farmlands.
It’s not trivial. For comparison, the city of Phoenix typically supplies just over 300,000 acre feet of water to taps each year.
However, given the share of agriculture 70% of statewide water usethe exported alfalfa represents just a few drops of that bucket.
to reach All Hands joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. on Twitter: @joanna allhands.
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