A Mega Dairy and a Sinking Aquifer
Sierra Vista Herald link (paywall for individual stories)
A major dairy and agriculture producer, relocating to Arizona's Sulphur Springs Valley, near the town of Willcox, is drilling for water in an underground aquifer that supplies other farmers and ranchers in this eastern part of Cochise County, as well as several towns, including Willcox, the largest in the area, with a population of 3,500. Unlike ground water supplies in other parts of the county, refilled by rivers and streams, the aquifer under the Sulphur Springs Valley is in a basin, refillable only by precipitation that falls locally. It is a deep aquifer, however, the deeper farmers and ranchers must go to pump water, the more expensive it gets.
There's been a reasonable balance up to this point between water taken from the aquifer and its recharge by precipitation, though the extended drought that has affected much of the Southwest has caused water levels here to drop as well. But in 2014, a company known as Riverview LLP began buying large tracts of land in the Willcox basin, and opened two huge dairy farms, growing feed for approximately 100,000 cows and, of course, providing them with the 20-40 gallons of water a day that each cow needs to be productive. Since then, many local farmers have had their wells go dry, and have been forced to pay exorbitant prices to dig the wells deeper to get water. One farmer reported having to haul water to his house, mostly 5 gallon jugs, for several years before he could raise the $45,000 necessary to deepen his well.
And even that was a temporary solution. The aquifer is dropping six feet per year, which means that before this particular farmer retires, wanting to hand his property off to his children, he will likely have to go deeper to get water.
"At some point," he said, "it will no longer be cost effective to do that."
The Willcox basin is like a giant bathtub, according to local agriculture producers. Rainwater and other precipitation is the only source of water going into the aquifer. Even before the current levels began dropping so fast, the amount of water being pumped out was still greater than the amount going in, though reduction in the aquifer levels was small. Then Riverview built its two huge dairy operations. Now, there are warning signs on local roads and highways, because the aquifer is being depleted so fast, that fissures are opening up randomly around the area.
Riverview, according to the state registry, has added 667 wells to the aquifer since 2015. It now pumps out more water than the rest of the area combined, including the town of Willcox. It has the money to sink wells as far down as 2,000 feet. As a result, surrounding farms and ranches are waking up to dry water taps, having to endure the cost of hauling water until, or unless, they can come up with the thousands of dollars they need to deepen their wells, or drill new ones.
The Politics, Local and State, of Getting Water in the Desert
According to the article in the Sierra Vista Herald, Riverview came to Arizona because of its lax, almost non-existent groundwater regulation. It should not be surprising that a state which has had a Republican controlled legislature for as long as Arizona has had one would attract exploitative corporate businesses after cheap natural resources which have taken advantage of tax exemptions required by the state and local taxing entities. What that means is that the cost of infrastructure improvements getting water to the city of Willcox will have to be covered by local taxpayers, since the corporations aren't paying any taxes. Local farmers will have to bear the cost themselves.
And one of their fears is that Riverview will pump the aquifer dry, then pull up and leave the area with no water supply and the economic consequences of that, while making millions on its dairy operation . While they would not speak with the Herald, their spokesperson denied this was the case, though the company is based in Minnesota, and raises heifers in Arizona for dairy production there because it is less expensive in a desert state where there is little corporate regulation, no restrictions on groundwater use and where they pay no taxes.
State legislators were silent on this issue, predictably. But of course, it is hard for Republican politicians to resist corporate tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, lack of regulation or restrictions on the use of natural resources, and favoring big money interests over those who work hard for a living. And predictably, a local Republican who should be defending the small farmers and small businessmen who are the backbone of Willcox and the agricultural basin of the Sulphur Springs Valley, has stepped forward to support Riverview, defend what they are doing and help blind people to the reality of what's going on.
Republican county supervisor Peggy Judd, of Willcox, says that she doesn't believe Riverview will just pick up and leave after investing millions of dollars in their two dairy operations in Cochise County. And of course, the good that they do for the local economy outweighs the fact that they could pump the aquifer dry and put every farmer and rancher in the Sulphur Springs Valley out of business and out of a home with water. Judd claims that they've invested millions in their operation, so leaving would be counterproductive, though if the water supply is depleted, they couldn't operate their business. And apparently, local residents are not seeing, or feeling, any effects of their presence on the local economy.
"I haven't seen it," says local farmer Mark Spencer, who lives near one of the Riverview dairy operations. What Spencer has seen, and experienced, is a large bill for having to drill his well deeper, down to almost 700 feet, with the aquifer dropping six feet per year.
While there's not really a whole lot that a county supervisor can do about a situation like this, she could stand with her neighbors and fellow members of the community she represents, and who elected her in the first place, and show some understanding of their plight. She could, at the very least, become an advocate for them against an out-of-state corporation that employs no locals, does very little business with local merchants and providers and pays no taxes to help with the problems they cause to other local farmers. She could speak up and use the influence of her position as a means through which the local farmers and ranchers could get their message to the attention of politicians who need to hear what they have to say.
But, it is too much to expect of Republican politicians, even on the local level, to stand up for the common people who have to work for a living against corporate exploitation. They just can't bring themselves to do it, even if they are members of the same community. And to save the water in the shrinking aquifer in the Willcox basin, local farmers and ranchers are going to have to set aside the conspiracy theories, the phony social agenda, and all of the lies and falsehoods and cast ballots for politicians who represent their own interests and will support their own community. And those politicians, even down at the county supervisor level, are likely to be members of the Democratic party.
Local farmer Mark Spencer says he hasn't seen any economic benefit, certainly nothing like Judd is claiming. Riverview's presence has created, according to her, about 50 good paying local jobs. It is unknown what it has actually added to the local economy, since it does not pay any taxes. And on a tour of Coronado Dairy, one of the two in the basin operated by Riverview, Spencer said he asked what percentage of the dairy's employers were citizens. The response, 5%, was defended by Judd, who said that they have to bring in what they need because the area doesn't have enough skilled labor to hire locally.
What kind of skilled workers does it take to operate a dairy, that can't be found in an area where 80% of the jobs are in agriculture? And why would it be hard to find local workers in an area of the state that has relatively high unemployment compared to the rest of the state and country, and is also one of the poorer areas of Arizona? Of course, Mexican labor keeps the corporate dairy company from having to pay living wages to their workers, and you can bet that's exactly why 95% of their employees come from Mexico. So of course we have a local, Republican county supervisor supporting the practice.
I guess she's missed the connection that the availability of these kinds of jobs so close to Mexico, for Mexican workers, might be contributing to the problems along the border that those of her ilk are whining about?
"Rank and file Arizonans' property rights are being ignored as out of state and even foreign entities swoop in to take advantage of Arizona's ground water free-for-all, sinking wells twice as deep as second and third generation farmers, placing at risk these farmers' property rights while taking a nearly instant toll on residents' wells in these areas, not to mention the collapsing of state highways and county roads due to earth fissures caused by over-pumping," said Spencer. Countless acres of private land will become worthless, robbing these property owners of their land values if we continue on the same path."
I'd suggest, Mr. Spencer, with all due respect, that you go to the ballot box whenever there is an election, whether for supervisor or state senator or representative, or governor for that matter, find out which politicians will stand up and defend you, and cast your ballot for them. Your water and your property rights have been put at risk by Republicans. It's time to vote for change.
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