Arizona

Arizona will regulate groundwater where Saudi company grows alfalfa

Published

2 months ago

January 13, 2026

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Arizona will regulate groundwater where Saudi company grows alfalfa

Arizona is creating a new active management area in the Ranegras groundwater basin to more tightly monitor water use.
The new rules require annual water use reports and conservation goals for high-capacity wells.
Saudi-owned Fondomonte and other large farms will face new reporting requirements and conservation goals.

Farmers, municipalities and industry in southeastern La Paz County, where Saudi-owned Fondomonte grows alfalfa for export, will face new requirements on groundwater use and reporting.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources designated an active management area in the Ranegras groundwater basin on Jan. 9, the agency said. With it, the area will become the eighth AMA in the state and the second one initiated by state mandate during Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration. Hobbs also announced the designation in her Jan. 12 State of the State address.

The agency held an informational public meeting in Salome in October, and a formal hearing in December, ahead of its final decision. From the 400 oral and written comments it received from the public, the “vast majority” supported the AMA, the agency wrote in a press release.

“The future of residents and businesses depends upon protecting the finite groundwater resources,” Director Tom Buschatzke said in a statement.

According to the agency, agricultural water use in Ranegras is estimated at nearly 40,000 acre-feet a year; recharge, or what is returned to the aquifer, is an estimated 2,000 acre-feet per year. There are no exact numbers because, until now, individuals could pump unlimited amounts of groundwater without reporting how much they were using. That’s still the case in most of rural Arizona, where there are no groundwater regulations in place.

La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin celebrated the announcement.

“We asked for a rural management tool that would fit our unique needs. Year after year, those pleas fell on deaf ears. Today, we’ve finally been heard,” she said in a statement. The AMA, she added, “is the decisive action we need to stop the bleeding that threatens the vitality of our community.”

County Supervisor Ducey Minor opposed the creation of an AMA at the formal hearing, saying that there is a water problem to address but the imposed regulations would stunt growth.

The AMA blocks agricultural expansion, and mandates annual water use reports and water conservation goals. Land that had not been irrigated for crop production sometime in the last five years cannot be farmed again unless owners show they’ve made a “substantial capital investment” on it.

Fondomonte, a subsidiary of Saudi-owned dairy Almarai, owns 22,873 acres of land in La Paz County, according to the assessor’s office, and will be granted “irrigation grandfathered rights” for land the company has farmed in the area in the past five years. The company hasn’t responded to numerous requests from The Republic to disclose how many acres it is actively farming in the Ranegras basin.

Like all other water users irrigating more than two acres or using pumps with a capacity of more than 35 gallons per minute, Fondomonte will face conservation goals and report annual water use, which is not public today.

Egg producers, pistachio orchards, dairies, feedlots and other farms in Ranegras would face similar requirements. There are nearly 8,000 acres of irrigated farmland in the basin, according to state estimates.

Wells that pump 35 gallons per minute or less, like those used for home needs, are not subject to regulation under the AMA.

Arizona’s water authority said the mandatory measuring and reporting will provide “reliable water use data,” benefit all users, and improve decision-making and transparency.

What will change?

The AMA will place restrictions on new high-capacity wells, like those used for crop irrigation, and demand annual water use reports or estimates. Anyone who wants to drill or deepen a well that pumps more than 35 gallons per minute, known as a “non-exempt well,” will have to perform a well-impact analysis, which will be subject to approval.

The AMA places no restrictions on wells pumping less than 35 gallons per minute, also called “exempt” wells.

Farmers using wells that irrigate more than two acres of land or pump more than 35 gallons per minute will have to measure how much water they are extracting. The conservation goals and management plan for the area, to be determined, would be designed to mitigate or slow down groundwater depletion. There would be a different conservation plan for agriculture, municipalities and industry.

A groundwater users advisory council, or GUAC, made up of five volunteer members who represent water users in the basin, will provide input to the state agency prior to adoption of the management plans. Those members are appointed by the governor. Anyone can submit their candidacy.

The Department said in the announcement it will send additional information to stakeholders and residents of the basin over the coming weeks.

Fondomonte is in an ongoing lawsuit with the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

“Regardless of whether an AMA is imposed in the Ranegras Plain, which I support, my office is moving forward with our public nuisance lawsuit against Fondomonte,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a meeting in Cochise County on Jan. 8, where she announced a settlement with Riverview LLP, a Minnesota-owned dairy that owns 58,562 acres in the Douglas and Willcox AMAs.

Managing groundwater depletion and protecting rural water users takes a mix of tools, she added.

“(An AMA) does not address the damage already done.”

Clara Migoya covers agriculture and water issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.

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Arizona

Idaho 78-58 Northern Arizona (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

7 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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Idaho 78-58 Northern Arizona (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

MOSCOW, Idaho — — Jackson Rasmussen had 19 points in Idaho’s 78-58 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday.

Rasmussen also had seven rebounds for the Vandals (16-13, 8-8 Big Sky Conference). Isaiah Brickner scored 15 points while shooting 6 of 11 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line. Jack Payne shot 4 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.

Diego Campisano finished with 11 points for the Lumberjacks (10-19, 4-12). Chris Komin added 11 points for Northern Arizona. Karl Markus Poom also had 10 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Arizona

Former Arizona town employee sentenced in COVID-19 relief, embezzlement case

Published

19 hours ago

February 26, 2026

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Former Arizona town employee sentenced in COVID-19 relief, embezzlement case

PARKER, AZ (AZFamily) — A former employee of a western Arizona town has learned her fate after being convicted in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud and embezzlement.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Thursday that Jennifer Elizabeth Alcaida, 50, a former office specialist for the Town of Parker, was sentenced by a Mohave County Superior Court judge to three and a half years in prison.

According to court records, between July and Sept. 2021, Alcaida took a total of $173,295.54 by writing unauthorized checks from town accounts, keeping cash she was required to deposit, and making personal purchases on a town-issued credit card.

Records also show she received more than $20,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program through the U.S. Small Business Administration after claiming the funds were needed to cover payroll for a personal business that did not exist.

Alcaida pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to felony charges of fraudulent schemes and theft. After her prison term, she will serve seven years of probation and has been ordered to pay $194,128.54 in restitution.

“This case is a clear example of someone who abused the public’s trust for personal gain,” Mayes said in a written statement. “Arizonans deserve to know that those who steal from their communities will be held accountable, and this sentence reflects exactly that.”

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Arizona high school banned from playoffs after harassment allegations

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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Arizona high school banned from playoffs after harassment allegations

COOLIDGE, AZ (AZFamily) — Student-athletes at an Arizona high school won’t participate in the playoffs following harassment and intimidation allegations during a basketball game last week.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board, which oversees high school athletics in the state, said it placed the Coolidge High School athletic department on probation Wednesday, effective immediately. That means all the school’s teams cannot participate in the postseason.

“The AIA and its member schools are committed to highest levels of respectful behavior from all of the participants at all AIA events,” the AIA said in an emailed statement.

The postseason ban is in response to a 3A boys basketball game Friday between Chinle High School and Coolidge High School in Coolidge. People who were at the game took to social media to say Chinle players were harassed and had racial slurs yelled at them.

A livestream video of the game shows that, as teams lined up to shake hands, a uniformed officer can be seen holding some people back. One viewer claims someone on the court spat on a Chinle player.

During a meeting between the Coolidge Unified School District and the AIA, the harassment allegations included fans making “inapproproiate use of belts” and officials complained of Coolidge fans used derogatory and racist language.

There were also claims Chinle players feared for their safety so they remained in the locker room after the game and left the building in pairs “due to safety concerns.”

The Chinle Chapter Government of the Navajo Nation passed a resolution Sunday asking the AIA to investigate the game. They said Coolidge players used verbal abuse, threatening gestures and “belligerent disregard” toward the Chinle players.

“This resolution sends a clear message to the Arizona Interscholastic Association that we stand in solidarity with the safety of our students. Our student athletes adhere to the rules of conduct and we will not allow for them to be disrespected and intimidated at an AIA Sanctioned Event,” Shawna Ann Claw, a Chinle Council delegate for the Navajo Nation Council, said on social media.

The chapter urged the AIA to punish those responsible and set strict rules to prevent something like this from happening again.

The AIA said Monday morning that it was aware of the incidents “before, during and after” Friday’s game.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Coolidge officials said they disagreed with characterizations that the end of the game was “out of control” and that anyone’s safety was in jeopardy, saying they “provided clarification during the meeting.”

The school district said it’s asking for another meeting with the AIA executive board and consulting with attorneys about what to do next, including filing an injunction and appealing.

“We believe the ruling is disproportionate to the circumstances and carries substantial consequences for student-athletes who were not involved in the incidents in question,” Coolidge Unified School District Superintendent Dawn Dee Hodge said in a written release.

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