Businesses in the United Arab Emirates have been leasing land in rural Arizona so they could pump an unlimited amount of the state’s groundwater—for free.
While the impact on the state’s water reserves is long-term, the residents of the McMullen Basin are experiencing firsthand the devastating effects of corporate groundwater drilling: They’re sinking.
So, what’s being done—and not done—about it?
In October, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration set an end date on Saudi company Fondomonte’s farming in La Paz County, where they had used up millions of gallons of water to grow alfalfa.
But another company—United Arab Emirates-based Al Dahra—is operating virtually the same way Fondomonte has, with no end date in sight.
The actions taken by the Hobbs administration to end Fondomonte’s use of Arizona’s groundwater applied only in that situation, and have no bearing on how other companies can operate.
Companies like Fondomonte and Al Dahra have the money to buy bigger drills for deeper wells, and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.
And unless the state water department puts a pause on drilling permits, those wells are only going to get deeper.
