A severe drought and declining reservoir levels have prompted the first-ever mandatory cuts to Arizona farmers' water supply from the Colorado River.
On the drought-stricken land where Pinal County farmers have irrigated crops for thousands of years, Nancy Caywood stopped her pickup truck along an empty canal and pointed to a field of dead alfalfa.
"It's heart wrenching," said Caywood, a third-generation farmer who manages 247 acres of property an hour outside of Phoenix. "My mom and dad toiled the land for so many years, and now we might have to give it up." More than 40 million people in the West rely on the Colorado River, which flows along Arizona's western edge. The farmers hit the hardest this year are in Pinal County, a rural stretch of land where agriculture is receding and slowly getting replaced by solar panels and housing developments.
Arizona farmers use nearly three-quarters of the available water supply to irrigate their crops. As supply runs low, some farmers in Pinal County couldn't afford to operate any longer and sold their land to solar developers. Others have left fields empty to cut down on water use, or have experimented with drought-resistant plants.
Despite the brutal conditions, Caywood wants to continue the farming legacy of her parents, both of whom died last year. In an attempt to salvage her property, Nancy frequently conducts farm tours to educate people about the water crisis. Her son, Travis Hartman, has leased plots in other irrigation districts that currently have access to Colorado River water.
"The drop in reservoir contents is stunning, but it feels inevitable that we reached this point," Udall said. "It's super uncomfortable to say, 'We told you so,' but man — there's been a lot of science about this problem for a long time."A half-hour away from the Caywood property, fourth-generation farmer Will Thelander is operating part of his family's 6,000 acres in Pinal County.
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