Arizona farmers brace for uncertain future as Colorado River deal remains unsettled

PHOENIX — Uncertainty over Arizona’s share of Colorado River water has created instability for farmers who grow most of the nation’s winter vegetable supply.

Yuma farmer Matt McGuire said growers are still waiting for the finalized Colorado River agreement, which will determine how the dwindling water supply is shared among multiple states well into the future.

“Most of the groundwater in this area is fed by the Colorado River, so you dry up the river, you dry up the wells,” McGuire told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

In the county known as the winter lettuce capital of the world, where 80% of the nation’s winter vegetables are grown, the impact reaches virtually every American dinner table from November to March.

Yuma farmers wait in limbo for new Colorado River agreement

As the federal government mulls over how Colorado River water should be divided in the future, Yuma farmers are trying to make the most of the little water they have.

“We’re getting more crop per drop than we were, 20, 30 years ago,” McGuire said. “All our fields are tabletop flat. No outlets. They’ve shown through numerous studies we’re as efficient as drip here. So, what’s the next level we go to? I’m not sure.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation had to work on a water rights settlement after the seven Colorado River basin states were unable to come to an agreement by the Feb. 14 deadline.

“When it goes to Washington, you never know what you’re going to end up with,” McGuire said. “Us farmers do a lot, but there’s not a lot of us.”

Related

Rep. Greg Stanton says Arizona does not want Interior Sec. to make Colorado River water decisionBipartisan bill aims to speed federal funding for Arizona water projectsArizona's first wastewater-to-drinking-water plant reaches construction halfway markCould Arizona communities share water during shortages? Phoenix is taking the first stepArizona university researchers study how to increase shrinking groundwater suppliesHow did last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire impact Grand Canyon water supply?