Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration on Monday announced two steps to stop a controversial Saudi Arabian company from using groundwater beneath state land in western Arizona to grow and export alfalfa.
Hobbs said in a statement that the Arizona State Land Department had canceled one of its leases to Fondomonte Arizona, and would not renew three others that are set to expire in February.
Agriculture uses up the most water in the Southwest - particularly in AZ and California. So, yes curtailing water use from thirsty crops is a big issue. Furthermore, these companies are drawing ground water from increasingly deep wells which is unsustainable and leads to shallower neighboring wells drying up.