Socioeconomic Impacts of Water Farming on Rural Areas of Origin in Arizona

Abstract

A land rush of sorts has occurred in parts of rural Arizona during the last six years. Municipalities, developers, speculators, and the federal government all have purchased or acquired leases to over one-half million acres of land, with half the acquisitions made by private parties, 30% by municipalities and 20% by the federal government (Woodard and McCarthy). Some of the land is irrigated agricultural land, some is rangeland, and some is raw desert. The purchasers have acquired the land not for the value of the land or its crops or any structures but for its associated rights. This phenomenon, known as water farming, has been occurring in other parts of the West for decades (Colby, this issue). Its emergence in Arizona was triggered by certain provisions of the state's 1980 Groundwater Management Act (Checchio, Woodard et al.). Municipal areas located in designated Active Management Areas that plan to grow beyond the year 2001 must convince the Arizona Department of Water Resources that they have a 100 years assured supply for new development. Historically, Arizona municipalities have relied on a mix of surface and groundwater to meet growing urban demand. However, there is little or no unappropriated surface in the state, and the Safe Yield provision of the Groundwater Management Act severely limits future groundwater pumpage from aquifers underlying urban lands (Woodard and Checchio). As a result, municipal providers plan to transfer to urban areas, eliminating much of the irrigated agriculture in the areas of origin. Arizona's transfer market can be distinguished from that of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and most other western states in the following ways: (a) Acquisitions are driven by legal requirements to secure paper rights more than any perceived need for the water. If the quantity of secured or being negotiated for transfer all was put to municipal and industrial uses at 140 gallons per capita per day (the targeted consumption rate of ADWR), then enough for an additional 3.2 million persons is involved. Current state population is just under 3.7 million.