The small town of Cibola in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert is facing land and water disputes as East Coast investment firms, including MassMutual subsidiary Greenstone Management Partners, purchase land in the area. .
Critics claim these companies are exploiting Cibola’s limited water resources for profit. This is especially true during times of extreme drought and the decreasing allocation of Colorado River water to Arizona.
One controversial deal involves Greenstone transferring Colorado River waters for $27 million to Queen Creek, a growing suburb of Phoenix, 200 miles from Cibola’s property. The move is currently the subject of lawsuits filed against the Federal Reclamation Service by La Paz, Mojave and Yuma counties.
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East Coast investment firms are also buying up land in the Southwest. New York-based Water Asset Management has made acquisitions in Arizona, California, Colorado and Nevada, with pending transactions in New Mexico and Texas.
Critics like Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District Water District, have described these companies as “drought profiteers” seeking to profit from the region’s water scarcity.
An outside investor could benefit from a federal pilot program providing a $125 million drought relief fund to pay Colorado River farmers and ranchers to let their land fallow and conserve water. Concerns have been raised that there are
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