Posted on 12/26/2022 9:45:19 AM PST by Theoria
Arizona’s water is running worryingly low. Amid the worst drought in more than a millennium, which has left communities across the state with barren wells, the state is depleting what remains of its precious groundwater. Much of it goes to private companies nearly free, including Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company.
Thanks to fresh scrutiny this year from state politicians, water activists and journalists, the Saudi agricultural giant Almarai has emerged as an unlikely antagonist in the water crisis. The company, through its subsidiary Fondomonte, has been buying and leasing land across western Arizona since 2014. This year The Arizona Republic published a report showing that the Arizona State Land Department has been leasing 3,500 acres of public land to Almarai for a suspiciously low price.
The case has prompted calls for an investigation into how a foreign company wound up taking the state’s dwindling water supplies for a fee that might be as low as one-sixth the market rate. But the focus on the Saudi scheme obscures a more fundamental problem: pumping groundwater in Arizona remains largely unregulated. It’s this legal failing that, in part, allows the Saudi company to draw unlimited amounts of water to grow an alfalfa crop that feeds dairy cows 8,000 miles away.
Even if Fondomonte leaves the state, it will be only a matter of time before Arizona sucks its aquifers dry. While a 1980 state law regulates groundwater use in a handful of urban areas, water overuse is common even in these places. The situation is worse in the roughly 80 percent of Arizona’s territory that falls outside these regulations. In most of rural Arizona, whoever has the money to drill a well can continue to pump till the very last drop.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They manage water about as well as they manage elections.
They should vote themselves more water.
This is simply a lie. We were briefed by one of the guys running for SRP water board. AZ has as much ground water as it had in 1970. We have, despite fourfold increase in population, actually managed to conserve more water recently. Management of the lakes and canals and Colorado River Water is excellent, contra CA.
This is the Slimes trying to raise a Global Warming hoax claim.
This article is pure crap. We were briefed on this three months ago. We have the same usage % and amount of ground water we had in the 70s despite the population increasing 4x.
The New York Times is worried, but Arizona can compensate by refusing to ship New York anything wet.
Maybe the rest of the states will join in.
FUNY, FUNYT and the horse you rode in on.
Even if Fondomonte leaves the state, it will be only a matter of time before Arizona sucks its aquifers dry.
—
Serves AZ right.
Well, overpopulation has consequences. If they were to deport Mexicans back to Mexico, deport all illegals, I bet there would be a sudden change in the severity of the water shortage.
AZ has had unusually rainy seasons for 2 years in a row.
This is NYT propaganda
I moved to Tucson in 1968. I left in 1978. During that time we observed stretches of I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix crumple due to land subsidence, due to dropping water tables due to groundwater use. Absolutely no way this politician’s words are true.
Limited resources further compounded Bidens Joemigration.
“...but Arizona can compensate by refusing to ship New York anything wet.”
Anyone shipping anyting to that fetid state other than their excrement and refuse is contributing to one of our greatest domestic enemies.
The point of the article appears to me to be an anti-Saudi hit piece, not a worry-about-groundwater piece. The largest user of ground water in Arizona by far was always copper mining and smelting. Probably still is.
The largest water users in Arizona are farmers and golf courses-- and the golf courses mostly use recycled water. Even with Arizona's growing population, residential water use is a distant third.
Just more of the samo samo black haired, non white skinned invasion of Gods second chosen people. . . . 110% of which have crossed over our southern border, an unabated invasion.
The millions of illegals flooding in are really thirsty
Now that Arizona has gone Full Retarded BLUE RAT, who cares? Give it to the RAT “assylum seeking refugeez.”
Don’t worry with all the mail in water, things will be ok. /s
Such an absurd statement!
One thousand years ago, there was no Arizona!
One could just as validly claim that a greater number of homicides had been recorded than at any time since the Cretaceous Period!
Regards,
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.