In La Paz County, Arizona, a deeply conservative area, the pressing concern for many voters is not inflation or illegal immigration, but rather the extraction of water from beneath their feet.
Giant farms in Arizona’s remote deserts, located approximately 100 miles west of Phoenix, have transformed the arid landscape into lush green fields resembling fairways. However, this transformation comes at a cost. These farms heavily rely on extracting vast amounts of groundwater to cultivate alfalfa for dairy cows, resulting in detrimental consequences for the surrounding communities. Water experts express concern over the excessive pumping, as it has led to the sinking of impoverished rural towns. Over the past three decades, certain areas in La Paz County have experienced a significant drop in ground levels, exceeding 5 feet. Consequently, this subsidence has resulted in the cracking of pipes and home foundations, as well as the depletion of wells in the region.
Luis Zavala, 48, who migrated from Mexico twenty years ago, expresses concerns about the potential consequences of water depletion. Having previously worked in the cantaloupe industry, which heavily relies on water, Zavala has witnessed the shift towards cultivating hay for cattle. Presently, he is employed at a water and ice business in Salome, where he sells 5-gallon jugs.
Amid the ongoing political conflicts surrounding abortion in Arizona’s Capitol, Democrats have shifted their focus to water as a crucial election matter. They see this issue as a potential avenue to reconnect with rural voters who have previously turned away from the party.
“I became attorney general because of water,” remarked Kris Mayes, a newly elected Democrat who ran on a platform of addressing agricultural practices in western Arizona. “This is precisely the type of issue through which we can regain support from rural communities.”
Summers characterized by record-setting heat and drought have left many Arizonans questioning the state’s ability to sustain its farms and rapidly expanding urban areas.
Rural residents express their heightened vulnerability, citing limited water sources and financial constraints. Unlike major cities like Phoenix, they lack the resources to construct larger reservoirs or develop new wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, they lack the jurisdiction enjoyed by urban areas to regulate unrestricted water pumping.
According to a recent survey conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, a Phoenix-based pollster, a majority of voters (60%) are of the belief that the state is experiencing a water shortage.
However, Democrats are viewed with suspicion in locations like La Paz County. This county is a mix of lush green farm valleys and harsh desert landscapes, which attract retirees in RVs and nomads living in vans during the mild winters.
According to Tom Zoellner, author of “Rim to River,” populist “pinto Democrats” have managed to thrive in the rural areas of Arizona despite facing numerous challenges. They have traditionally championed issues such as gun rights, defense, and infrastructure projects, which have brought federal funds to their communities. In fact, in 1996, La Paz County, a rural stronghold, narrowly voted in favor of Bill Clinton’s reelection, while Maricopa County, the largest urban county in Arizona, supported his Republican opponent.
In present times, La Paz, with a population of 17,000, showcases the profound changes occurring in rural America, embodying the bedrock of MAGAland that gained momentum during Donald Trump’s presidency and appealed to disillusioned white voters. At the Cactus Bar, snowbirds engage in billiards while sporting “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirts, which serve as a mocking gesture towards President Joe Biden. Additionally, Trump flags proudly flutter from off-road desert buggies as they rumble through the mountains.
According to the Pew Research Center, Trump made significant gains among Democrats in rural areas in 2020, receiving 65% of rural votes compared to 59% in 2016. La Paz County, in particular, has become even more strongly Republican. Despite Trump’s denial of the drought in California and his proposed reductions to the federal agency responsible for overseeing major water projects in the Western region, he won La Paz County by a margin of 40 points in 2020. Some of his supporters dismissed the notion that the Democrats’ water-related concerns would sway their political allegiance.
According to Jim Downing, an engineer who works with farms in the area, the notion of a water crisis is completely unfounded. He firmly believes that Democrats and the news media have fabricated this issue for purely political reasons. Downing argues that big farms have unfairly been portrayed as villains for utilizing a legally accessible resource.
Despite the odds, he decided to attend a gathering of approximately 150 individuals at the nearby library in Wenden, a farming town in La Paz, one April afternoon. The number of attendees far exceeded the expectations of the local officials, who had anticipated only a few dozen participants.
Mayes has been actively visiting the sites affected by Arizona’s water crises. She has organized well-attended gatherings in rural communities, highlighting the consequences of groundwater pumping by a large dairy farm, which has resulted in the formation of fissures in the earth. Additionally, she has addressed the issue of people’s wells, some as deep as 400 feet, running dry.
In an effort to address the ongoing drought crisis and improve infrastructure, Democratic leaders, including Senator Harris, are emphasizing the utilization of funds allocated through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure legislation. Senator Harris conveyed her support to the crowd, acknowledging their long-standing neglect and emphasizing her alignment with their concerns.
In their early tenure, she and Gov. Katie Hobbs, a first-term Democrat, targeted a Saudi-owned farm in La Paz County. The farm, Fondomonte, had faced criticism for excessively extracting water on state-leased land to cultivate alfalfa for export to the Middle East.
Hobbs has terminated the leases on state land held by Fondomonte, although the company is currently appealing this decision. Fondomonte has responded by stating that it is still operating on other properties and employing innovative methods to minimize water usage. The company claims to be the third-largest private employer in the county and contributes $145 million each year to the state’s economy.
During her address in Wenden, Mayes informed the audience that she is currently exploring the possibility of taking legal action to halt the operations of these large farms. She expressed her concerns about the detrimental effects such as erosion, road damage, declining water tables, and other forms of damage that these massive farms could potentially cause, which may potentially infringe upon Arizona’s nuisance laws.
Holly Irwin, a county supervisor who identifies as a “staunch Republican,” expressed her disappointment with the lack of assistance La Paz received during the previous Republican-led administration in Arizona.
“It’s such a relief,” she exclaimed. “We finally have a governor who is actually listening and genuinely concerned about the water situation.”
Several individuals who were present at the town hall expressed their disapproval of the mega-farms. However, their true anger was directed towards Phoenix and other rapidly expanding cities. These urban areas are actively searching for alternative water sources due to the ongoing drought and the impact of climate change on the availability of water from the Colorado River.
Phoenix previously held land in La Paz, but local officials have confirmed that all of it has been sold, and the city no longer possesses any water rights in the area. Nonetheless, Buckeye and Queen Creek, two suburbs of Phoenix, have made significant investments, amounting to millions of dollars, in acquiring water from private landowners in rural Arizona to support their expanding populations.
Mayes stated that her office supported La Paz and other western Arizona counties in their legal action against the water transfer from a farm along the Colorado River to Queen Creek.
Rob McDermott, the owner of a mobile home park catering to snowbirds, became acutely aware of Arizona’s water crisis when his 600-foot well ran dry two years ago. In response, he invested $120,000 to dig a deeper well. McDermott expressed his support for the efforts of Democratic officials to regulate large farms and also endorsed Mayes’ proposal to temporarily halt new deep-well drilling.
He advised, “You need to slow down.”
He expressed concern about the depletion of the water supply in the town, stating that if it continues, the town will suffer and lose everything.
Gloria Ramirez, a 75-year-old resident of Wenden, expresses deep concern about the future of the town due to the declining groundwater levels. Her parents migrated from Chihuahua, Mexico, to work in the fields here during the 1960s.
She exclaimed that her house was lower and that the ground was splitting.
As a Democrat, she joined Mayes and her conservative neighbors for the meeting, and she intends to cast her vote in November. However, like numerous other voters, she expressed her frustration with the toxic political climate, causing her to tune out election news. She goes to great lengths to avoid discussing topics such as water politics, Trump, and Biden in her community.
On the contrary, she finds joy in creating peace-sign art by stringing together glass and beads. Additionally, she loves spending her weekends in the mountains, where the lush alfalfa fields give way to the vast expanse of the desert.
This article was first published in The New York Times.
