TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona has revoked two drilling permits for two water wells for a Saudi Arabia-owned alfalfa farm.
That farm — which does not pay for the water according to the Associated Press — uses the water to grow its alfalfa plants. It then exports the plants to Saudi Arabia to feed dairy cattle.
The permits were revoked after the attorney general's office found inconsistencies in the company's well applications for La Paz County — including where the wells were built and why.
Attorney General Kris Mayes said those two wells would have pumped 3,000 gallons per minute out of the ground water. AZFamily reports in just three minutes, both wells would pump the amount of water an average family of four uses in a month.
Attorney General Mayes said it's long-past time for Arizona to wake up and address the growing water crisis 'head on' before it's too late.
Read the attorney general's full comments below.
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Jeff Rosenfield joined KGUN 9 in July of 2022. He has a background in writing, as well as photography and other visual mediums. He graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the Arizona State University in May of 2022.
