Arizona
Arizona will regulate groundwater where Saudi company grows alfalfa
Gov. Hobbs tours La Paz County over concerns about groundwater
Governor Katie Hobbs answers questions during a groundwater issues tour in La Paz County, on May 28, 2025.
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.
(Stacker) – Stacker compiled statistics on gas prices in Arizona using data from AAA. Gas prices are as of May 1.
Arizona by the numbers
– Gas current price: $4.72
– Week change: +$0.08 (+1.7%)
– Year change: +$1.41 (+42.8%)
– Historical expensive gas price: $5.39 (6/17/22)
– Diesel current price: $5.80
– Week change: -$0.08 (-1.3%)
– Year change: +$2.30 (+65.9%)
– Historical expensive diesel price: $6.21 (4/8/26)
Metros with most expensive gas in Arizona
#1. Scottsdale: $4.90
#2. Peoria: $4.84
#3. Phoenix Proper: $4.82
#4. Glendale: $4.82
#5. West Valley: $4.80
#6. Phoenix-Mesa: $4.80
#7. East Valley: $4.80
#8. Yuma: $4.75
#9. Flagstaff: $4.73
#10. Lake Havasu-Kingman: $4.70
#11. Prescott: $4.69
#12. Sierra Vista-Douglas: $4.55
#13. Tucson: $4.53
#14. Pima County: $4.53
States with the least expensive gas
#1. Georgia: $3.80
#2. Oklahoma: $3.82
#3. Mississippi: $3.83
#4. Arkansas: $3.84
#5. Louisiana: $3.84
Read on to see which states have the most expensive gas prices.
#5. Nevada
– Regular gas price: $5.15
#4. Oregon
– Regular gas price: $5.21
#3. Washington
– Regular gas price: $5.61
#2. Hawaii
– Regular gas price: $5.64
#1. California
– Regular gas price: $6.06
src=”https://analytics.stacker.com/tracking/0a06cfd3-db49-4351-b9ca-8050a3d4c4f3/script.js?source=story-hub” async>
Copyright 2026 Stacker via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
A dad visiting the Phoenix Zoo says his family was in disbelief when staff suddenly told everyone to leave. Holding his 7-month-old baby, he says the fear set in as they rushed to their car without knowing why. Police later said the bomb threat appears to have been fake. Stephanie Duprey has more.
PHOENIX — The Mammoth have generated a buzz in Utah, igniting a new fan base with a trip to the playoffs in their second season.
The previous fan base back in the desert still feels a connection with the franchise once known as the Arizona Coyotes and the players who set the foundation for its current success.
But there’s also a strange detachment from seeing the team they once rooted for playing in a city more than 600 miles away under a different name.
“I’m a hockey fan and I’ve been cheering for them; most of those guys, that team, that organization were here,” Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin said on Friday. “But in many ways, I feel disconnected from them. They’re playing in Utah, they have Utah fans, they play in a Utah arena.”
Galvin is trying to bring NHL hockey back to the Phoenix area.
Not long after the Coyotes left for Utah in 2024, he helped create an advisory committee that includes former Olympian Lyndsey Fry and Andrea Doan.
Fry, who grew up in the Phoenix area, has been a stalwart in Arizona youth hockey through various programs and spearheads community relations for the committee.
Utah Mammoth left wing Brandon Tanev (13) attempts to shoot against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
Doan has strong ties to hockey; her husband, Shane, was the longtime captain of the Coyotes and her son, Josh, is a current NHL player who started his career with the Coyotes. She works with Galvin on finding a potential owner for a potential NHL expansion team and possible sites for a new arena.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had repeatedly said the league would like to have a franchise in Arizona again — it owns the Coyotes name — but the right ownership and arena location have to be in place.
“We have to find a good and appropriate location for an arena — that has been an issue bedeviling the Coyotes for the better part of 25 years — and we need a billionaire to put up money to buy the team,” said Galvin, who works on the advisory committee on his own time. “So my joke is, if you know a billionaire, please let me know because there’s not that many around and that’s what it takes in professional sports these days.”
The Coyotes struggled during their 28-year run in Arizona, going through multiple owners and three different arenas.
The franchise had an arena plan for Tempe, but voters shot it down. Another proposal for an arena in Scottsdale fell through when previous owner Alex Meruelo couldn’t secure a land-rights deal, leading to the franchise’s move to Utah.
Coyotes fans have tried to keep a connection to the new version of the team, but it’s not quite the same from long distance.
“I’ve got to tell you, my enthusiasm for them really dropped off,” Galvin said. “But I do love watching hockey and enjoy watching great other teams.”
Galvin is doing his best to bring it back to Arizona in person.
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