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Pinal County Farmers Are the First to Feel the Pain of Colorado River Cuts

/in , , /by /Fronterasby Anthony J. Wallace

Farming is in 30-year-old Jace Miller’s blood.

“I love my job, it’s the greatest way of life,” Miller said. “It’s the best profession in the world, in my opinion.”

His great great grandfather came to Arizona in 1917 and started a farm in Gilbert. Four generations later, Jace is still doing it. But that 100-year run is at risk of ending — Triple M Farms, named for the three Miller generations that work there today — is losing access to its most important resource: water.

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Opinion: Why is Arizona Growing When Groundwater is Shrinking? We’re Finally Having This Debate

/in , /by /AZ Centralby Joanna Allhands

If our water supply is dwindling, why is Arizona still growing?

I get this question almost every time I write about groundwater. Readers say we should be doing a lot more to slow – or even cut off – the construction of new homes and farms.

That’s not likely to happen any time soon. But smart people are diving into the weeds of how we use this finite resource to fuel growth, and that makes me cautiously optimistic.

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‘They’re Going to Dry Up’: Debate Erupts Over Plan to Move Water From Farmland to Suburbs

/in , , /by /azcentralby Ian James

A private company and the town of Queen Creek are proposing a water deal that would leave 485 acres of farmland permanently dry near the Colorado River and send the water used on that land to the fast-growing Phoenix suburb.

The company GSC Farm LLC is seeking to sell its annual entitlement of 2,083 acre-feet of Colorado River water — about 678 million gallons — to Queen Creek for a one-time payment of $21 million. The town and the company asked regulators at the Arizona Department of Water Resources to endorse the water transfer, and the agency is holding a series of four meetings this week to hear comments on the proposal.

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CVWD Approves Taking On Debt For First Time For $40 Million Oasis Farm Pipeline

/in , , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.)by Janet Wilson

The Coachella Valley Water District on Monday approved taking on outside financing for what is believed to be the first time in its 101-year history for a $40 million pipeline to bring more Colorado River water to the region’s farmers, freeing up valuable groundwater for other uses.

A majority of the board voted Monday at a special meeting to give staff the go-ahead to pursue short-term, low-interest “bridge” financing for the Oasis pipeline project, by drawing on a $75 million line of credit CVWD obtained with Bank of the West on July 1.

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