Arizona has moved to limit a Saudi-owned alfalfa farm and other megafarms from essentially exporting water to their countries via crop growth, leaving local wells dry. 

What's happening?

In 2015, the Center for Investigative Reporting warned that Saudi Arabia's agricultural industry was on the verge of collapse. A kingdom that was once a top exporter of wheat saw its ancient aquifers drying up. The following year, it ended domestic wheat production at scale.  

With its aquifers not expected to refill naturally for tens of thousands of years, Saudi Arabia began seeking solutions elsewhere, according to the investigation. 

Its largest dairy company, Almarai, purchased 9,600 acres in Arizona and began growing hay to feed its livestock. While Saudi Arabia could better support its needs back home, Arizona residents saw troublesome effects. 

As The Cool Down previously covered, the Copper Courier reported that years of corporate groundwater overextraction, including from megafarms like Saudi Arabia's, has caused some properties to sink by at least three feet. Residents also say their wells have begun to run dry, as detailed by Mother Jones. 

Why is this important? 

As air pollution traps heat in the atmosphere, more frequent extreme weather events like droughts are exacerbating water scarcity in Arizona and elsewhere. In January, the UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned that "episodes that once looked like temporary shocks are becoming chronic in many places," leading to "water bankruptcy."

The jostle for resources across international borders, as the Center for Investigative Reporting examined in its Emmy-winning documentary, The Grab, has real consequences for local people. In Arizona, outcry for policy reform to protect the region's groundwater has grown.

What's being done about this?

After The Grab debuted in 2022, raising awareness about how domestic water management, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs canceled several of the Saudi farm's contracts on state land, according to Mother Jones. In January's State of the State address, Hobbs announced the formation of a new "active management area" in La Paz County, where Saudi Arabia's alfalfa farm is located. 

"This new AMA will help protect local water supplies while giving residents living in the basin a say over their water future," Hobbs said. "We can no longer sit idly by while our rural communities go without help. They deserve solutions and security."

As Mother Jones detailed, designating an area as an AMA won't reduce water extraction from megafarms in the short term. However, it will limit the existing operations and expansion. 

"This is huge," La Paz County supervisor Holly Irwin said. "It prevents any future companies from being able to purchase land and come here to extract water."

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