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Saudis using free Arizona water to grow alfalfa to send back to SA

Gil Bang

By Gil Bang
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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25898

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saudi-company-fondomonte-arizona-ground-water-crop-alfalfa/

Farms in western Arizona are growing alfalfa – one of the most water-intensive crops – in an area where there's a shortage of water. Some farms are foreign-owned and are shipping the crop to Saudi Arabia, where it's illegal to grow because it takes too much water.

It's a growing controversy that could lead to a reckoning over scarce water supplies. Amid a backlash, the state legislature is considering a ban on most foreign-owned farms.

"Pumps are pumping water out of the ground that belongs to the State of Arizona, and essentially it's being exported to Saudi Arabia," said Kris Mayes, Arizona's newly elected attorney general.

Fondomonte, which is owned by one of the largest dairy companies in Saudi Arabia, bought vast tracts of desert in western Arizona on top of a massive groundwater aquifer in part because there are no regulations on how much water can be pumped out of the ground. Anyone who buys or leases land there can put in a well and draw water.

It's a challenge for the state. As climate change fuels devastating droughts, Arizona and its rapidly growing cities are facing drastic cuts to their surface water supply from the critically low Colorado River system.

"We cannot afford to give our water away frankly to anyone, let alone the Saudis, for free," said Mayes.

La Paz County supervisor Holly Irwin, who has been sounding the alarm about foreign-owned farms since they began operating there in 2015, said Fondomonte is growing alfalfa in the Arizona desert "because they've depleted their natural resource" back home.  

Fondomonte trucks haul dried alfalfa off the property it uses and ships it back to the Middle East to feed cattle. According to Mayes, cows in Saudi Arabia are essentially drinking Arizona water.

Fondomonte declined CBS News' request for an interview or statement. But what it's doing in Arizona is not illegal. In fact, the state rents some land to Fondomonte for $25 an acre. The company can then pump unlimited amounts of groundwater for essentially no cost. 

"There's nothing to say except, that's insane," said Mayes.

For some, the question is: how did this happen?

CBS News obtained copies of several land leases dating back to 2014 that give Fondomonte rights to more than 6,000 acres of state-owned land and the groundwater that comes with it. The leases are signed by Arizona's State Land Department. 

CBS News asked the department why it granted the leases, but it did not respond to our multiple requests for comment. Most state officials in charge when the leases were signed are no longer in office. 

"It is a scandal that the State of Arizona allowed this to happen," said Mayes, a Democrat, who made canceling these leases a centerpiece of her recent campaign. 

She said canceling the leases is an urgent concern because groundwater in the valley is supposed to be the state's emergency water supply during a water crisis. The state doesn't even know exactly how much water the foreign farms are using.

"We are on the cusp of a potential water disaster in the state of Arizona," Mayes said.

Just outside of a western Arizona town called Hope, cattle rancher Brad Mead is finding it hard not to lose his. He claims his neighbors, Fondomonte, used so much water that his well went dry.

He said that when he looks onto his neighbor's property, he sees money leaving America. 

"I see water getting depleted," he said.  

 

 
 
 
 
Edited by Gil Bang
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  • Gil Bang changed the title to Saudis using free Arizona water to grow alfalfa to send back to SA
Bullneck

Bullneck 18987

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13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Wonder what party those folks belong to, who were running Arizona back in 2014/2015 when all of this started, and whether it has anything to do with faces and leopards.

Pretty obvious, isn't it.  Didn't Boone Pickens try that in the panhandle?

EDIT:  Let's take a look at their wiki page:

  • Robert K. Lane 1983–1987
  • M. Jean Hassell 1987–1997
  • J. Dennis Wells 1997–1999
  • Michael E. Anable 1999–2003
  • Mark Winkleman 2003–2009
  • Maria Baier 2009–2012
  • Vanessa P. Hickman 2012–2015[4]
  • Lisa A. Atkins 2015–2023 [5]
  • Robyn Sahid 2023-Present[6]

Looks like Vanessa P. Hickman might know something.

Quote

Vanessa Hickman was the Arizona Commissioner of Lands from 2012–2015. Hickman was appointed to the position in November 2012 by then-Governor Jan Brewer (R).[1] She stepped down in January 2015 to take a job at Arizona State University.[2] She was succeeded by Lisa Atkins in April 2015.[3][4]

And now: Jan Brewer

Quote

Brewer directed the Arizona Department of Water Resources to develop Arizona's Next Century: A Strategic Vision for Water Supply Sustainability, a document outlining Arizona's water use plan.[92] The "Vision" was the necessary first step, organizing the state into 22 planning areas and envisioning options.

It appears even Arizona saw the problem unfolding.  Somewhere, someone said, "Know what?  Let's sell out water to the Saudis!"

image.thumb.png.f0a77f5a00b70ce4d202d50976fffe92.png

Edited by Bullneck
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Bojack

Bojack 2073

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28 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Wonder what party those folks belong to, who were running Arizona back in 2014/2015 when all of this started, and whether it has anything to do with faces and leopards.

nat geo leopard GIF by National Geographic Channel

 

That's a jaguar.

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956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34444

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Bullneck said:

 

Pretty obvious, isn't it.  Didn't Boone Pickens try that in the panhandle?

EDIT:  Let's take a look at their wiki page:

  • Robert K. Lane 1983–1987
  • M. Jean Hassell 1987–1997
  • J. Dennis Wells 1997–1999
  • Michael E. Anable 1999–2003
  • Mark Winkleman 2003–2009
  • Maria Baier 2009–2012
  • Vanessa P. Hickman 2012–2015[4]
  • Lisa A. Atkins 2015–2023 [5]
  • Robyn Sahid 2023-Present[6]

Looks like Vanessa P. Hickman might know something.

And now: Jan Brewer

It appears even Arizona saw the problem unfolding.  Somewhere, someone said, "Know what?  Let's sell out water to the Saudis!"

image.thumb.png.f0a77f5a00b70ce4d202d50976fffe92.png

“Let’s GIVE our water to the Saudis.”

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