Arizona Fed Up With Foreign Influence Taking Groundwater

In a hostile and arid climate such as Arizona, groundwater is one of the most precious resources to come by.

Helping boost agriculture and keeping massive cities afloat, Arizona is perhaps the state that needs to look at its water conservation the most.

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Foreign Influence

For the past few years, Arizona has been leasing out thousands of acres of farmland to the Almarai Company, a Middle Eastern dairy company. The company owns Fondomonte Arizona LLC, a massive farming operation that grows Alfalfa on Arizona land to be shipped back to the Middle East for their dairy cows.

Fondomonte leases around 6,000 acres of state land, as well as owning around 10,000 acres of farmland across the state. This makes Fondomonte the second-largest owner of agricultural land in the state.

With all of this agricultural land under their belt, Fondomonte was allowed to use unlimited groundwater, but this needed water was coming out of the pocket of local Arizona farmers.

The State Pushes Back

On Thursday, March 7th, Governor Katie Hobbs finally made a stand. The state government has been trying to protect Arizona groundwater for years, and Hobbs made a point to go after outsiders taking advantage of Arizona's resources.

On the 7th, Hobbs revoked Fondomonte's lease of state property and is forcing them to find other alternatives. While this is a huge victory for Arizona agriculture, Fondomonte is not the only foreign group using Arizona's water and land.

Hobbs is adamant about stopping foreign use of state water, and this decision is just the beginning, stating that the state would “continue taking decisive action to protect Arizona’s water so we can thrive for generations to come.”