Opponents of a measure to slow groundwater use say it would take control away from local residents, but out-of-area donors are funding the opposition.
As residents in southeast Arizona prepare to vote on a plan to regulate groundwater for the first time, out-of-state interests have been pouring in cash to the group that is opposing the measure.
Rural Water Assurance opposes the AMA, arguing that it would take control out of residents' hands and give powerDespite RWA’s interest in local control, more than half of its campaign contributions have come from outside the basin, including more than $36,000 from donors in California, and Maricopa and Pima Counties since July, according to the Secretary of State's Office.Ballot measure:Most of the in-basin donations have been made within the last month.
Among the out-of-state donors is Tri-Nut Farm Management out of California, currently irrigating 2,400 acres in the Willcox and Douglas Basin, with plans to expand to an additional 1,200 acres. Large-scale nut growers from California have been purchasing land in the two groundwater basins in recent years and digging new wells. Since groundwater is not regulated there, these large-scale operations can pump as much water as they want without reporting it to the state.
The Water Defenders have had difficulty bringing in big donations. They have received about $16,000 during the campaign season, most of those funds come exclusively from small donations from individuals in Bisbee.If the AMA is passed by voters, the Arizona Department of Water Resources would decide whether to set a goal of “safe yield” for the area as it has for the other five regions of the state.
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