/ Modified aug 17, 2015 2:54 p.m.

State Rejects Requested Ban on Expanding Irrigation

Farmers in Cochise County lose petition to to stop further development in their area.

Farmland Spotlight

Listen:

The Arizona Department of Water Resources has denied a petition by farmers in southeastern Arizona to ban the expansion of irrigated farmland in the area.

The farmers, who are mostly near Bowie along the New Mexico line, filed the petition out of fear that new pistachio and pecan farms in the area will deplete groundwater.

The petition was denied by Water Resources Department Director Thomas Buschatzke.

"There is sufficient groundwater to provide a reasonably safe supply for irrigation of the cultivated lands in the San Simon Valley sub-basin at current rates of withdrawal," Buschatzke wrote in the decision.

The petitioning farmers said new farming could mean current rates of withdrawal exceed sustainable levels.

“There’s a lot of new trees," said Calvin Allred, one of the farmers who signed the petition. "The new trees don’t take very much water, but as they get older, they demand a lot more water. And there’s a lot of ground, a lot of ground, that is being planted and developed.”

State water officials declined to comment, saying the decision is open to review until late September.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona