The Saudis are after our water?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Today, Governor Hobbs declined to renew one of four leases that the Saudi firm, Fondomonte, uses to lease land at $25/acre -- which includes free water -- enough water for a city of 50,000 people. The other three leases will not be renewed when they expire in March 2024. Finally some common sense.

Arizona has been having problems also with REIT's locking up water supplies in exurb-type locations, and sinking deeper wells than nearby newly-developed communities for their own developments featuring golf courses, so that the people who bought new homes in a nearby development found a few months after moving in, that their water fixtures sputter and run dry. They were stuck with a new 30-year mortgage in homes that had become unlivable.

This situation was covered in detail in a New Yorker article years ago,and there was a rash of updates on the general issue of suburban developments' water supplies in the magazine last year. I wonder if the State has taken any steps to address this. AZ needs to have laws on the books protecting its water before much of it ends up in the hands of the highest bidder. All SW-ern states need to take steps to guard against this.

I read there's now a law on the books requiring developers to have a 100-year water supply before they'll be given building permits. I don't see that that would solve the problem. It might boil down to a no-growth policy in AZ. Groundwater can't be pumped forever. It is at best a temporary solution.