In our rural Arizona counties, groundwater is not just a resource; it is the lifeblood of our communities. For years, we have watched this lifeblood being drained at an alarming rate, threatening the future of local families, farms and the economies of our counties.

The situation is especially critical in La Paz County, home to the Ranegras Plains Groundwater Basin and the global poster child of our groundwater woes — the Saudi owned Fondomonte Farms, growing the extremely water intensive alfalfa using Arizona groundwater, all to be shipped back to the Middle East. The Arizona Department of Water Resources recently held an informal hearing to discuss the basin’s status, and the alarming data validates the well-known situation – the basin is experiencing significant stress, and current laws contemplate the need for implementation of an Active Management Area.

This week, we have witnessed history in the making, again, as ADWR announced another formal hearing for consideration of an Active Management Area in the Ranegras Plains Groundwater Basin. Should this basin legally qualify, this would result in the third AMA established since 2022. 

Let us be abundantly clear. We would not be here today if the Legislature would have just done their job. For too long, the response from the state Legislature has been inadequate in providing locally tailored groundwater solutions. Instead, rural Arizona has been provided two options for water management – a clunky Active Management Area or a toothless Irrigation Non-Expansion Area. Neither is the right fit for our unique communities. Although, no action is certainly not the solution, so cue in the AMAs.

This is not an isolated problem to the Ranegras Plains in La Paz County. Across rural Arizona, we are facing a common threat. Deep-pocketed foreign corporations and industrial mega-farms have moved in, drilling ever-deeper wells to flood global markets with their crops, often shipping containerized water out of our state in the form of alfalfa.

While they reap profits, our local family farmers, the foundation of our communities, are left to watch their own wells go dry. Families who have lived on their land for generations now face a future where they may not be able to get a clean glass of water from their taps, take showers, or provide water to their own plants and animals. This is a crisis of basic resources, and it is happening on our watch.

We are not asking for a one-size-fits-all solution. We are asking for a toolbox. We need new, flexible groundwater management tools that allow rural counties to protect their water supplies in a way that fits their unique needs. We need the ability to protect our local farmers and residents from unchecked pumping by corporate outsiders who have no long-term stake in our state.

The upcoming formal hearing on the Ranegras Plains Basin for an Active Management Area is an important step, but we should not continue to settle on AMAs when we have the ability to legislatively create better options for rural Arizona groundwater management. 

If the Legislature fails to provide these necessary tools, we are left with no choice but to continue to encourage the establishment of AMAs. How many AMAs do we need to see before the political will is there?

Our communities cannot wait any longer. The water is running out, and so is our patience.

Travis Lingenfelter represents Mohave County, Nikki Check represents Yavapai County, Patrice Horstman represents Coconino County, and Holly Irwin represents La Paz County on their respective boards of supervisors.