💰 Saudi Arabia's Great Arizona Water Heist: Legal but Lethal
Foreign corporations pump desert aquifers dry while locals watch their wells wither. Also, how a cannabis-loving rapper became Arizona Bowl's unlikely savior and community champion.
Based on the 12/16/24 Buckmaster show on KVOI-1030AM.
🙊 Notable quotes from the show
"If you own land and you can punch a well, you can pump all the water you want" - Dr. Jeff Silvertooth on rural water rights
"Facts may be facts, but perceptions become people's reality" - Dr. Silvertooth on agricultural water use debates
"We broke some ground" - Kim Adair on getting NCAA approval for alcohol sponsorship
"We're not a 501c3 non-profit ourselves. We're doing this because we want to drive economic impact into southern Arizona" - Kim Adair on Arizona Bowl's mission
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🌍💧 Imagine if some neighborhoods had rules about using water from underground, but others didn't have any rules at all! 😲 That's what's happening in Arizona right now. Some places are running out of water 💧🚫 because companies can pump as much as they want, while cities have strict rules about saving water 🚰📜.
At the same time, exciting things are happening with college football 🏈🎉 - a famous musician named Snoop Dogg 🎤🐶 is helping make a big game in Tucson that gives all its extra money 💵❤️ to help people in need. It's like having two totally different stories happening at once: one about running out of water 🌊🏜️, and another about helping the community through sports! 🤝✨
🗝️ Takeaways
🌵 Arizona operates under two water systems: modern regulation for cities, Wild West rules for rural areas
💧 The state's first new Active Management Area in 44 years may be created due to crisis-level depletion
🌱 Agriculture uses 70% of state water while producing world-leading crop yields
🤝 Seven Western states can't agree on Colorado River water sharing, forcing potential federal intervention
💼 Saudi companies can legally pump unlimited groundwater while neighboring wells run dry
🏆 Arizona Bowl transforms from traditional sports event to community-focused charitable powerhouse
📻 What They Discussed
The December 16th, 2024, edition of the Buckmaster Show was a special birthday broadcast. Host Bill Buckmaster celebrated alongside his second guest, Dr. Jeff Silvertooth, who shares the same birthday!
Broadcasting from the Green Things Zocalo Village Studio on KVOI 1030, The Voice, Buckmaster welcomed two distinguished guests: Kim Adair, who has headed the Arizona Bowl for six and a half years, and Dr. Jeff Silvertooth, a University of Arizona professor and extension specialist in agronomy and soil science who has served the university since 1987.
The show covered everything from bowl game innovations to Arizona's critical water issues.
🏈 Snoop Takes the Bowl: When Hip-Hop Meets College Football
In a delightfully ironic turn of events that embodies the union of capitalism and counter-culture, the Arizona Bowl has made history as the first college bowl game to be sponsored by an alcoholic beverage - Gin and Juice by Dre and Snoop.
This partnership, surprising in the typically conservative realm of college athletics, signifies an intriguing shift in sports marketing. Kim Adair, embodying an entrepreneurial drive that resonates with both Wall Street and Compton, explained the process of persuading the NCAA and conference partners to endorse this innovative sponsorship.
"We broke some ground," Adair remarked, perhaps the understatement of the year. Yet, despite the celebrity glitz and glamour, the bowl upholds its commitment to the community. With ticket prices ranging from a reasonable $35 to $50, this event shines as a rare symbol of accessibility in an ever-commercializing sports world.
The real kicker? 🏉
One hundred percent of net proceeds go to local charities, with about $5 million distributed over nine games. This is almost enough to make you forget you're watching a sport in which unpaid athletes generate billions in revenue.
💧 Arizona's Water Crisis: A Tale of Two Centuries, Two Systems, and Too Little Action
In a state where golf courses remain eternally green while rural wells run dry, Arizona's water crisis reads like a Dickensian novel of inequality - but with more cacti and less fog. Dr. Jeff Silvertooth, speaking on the Buckmaster Show, laid bare the absurdity of Arizona's water management system, where urban and rural areas might as well exist in different centuries.
The urban corridors, blessed by the 1980 Groundwater Management Act, operate under structured regulations within Active Management Areas (AMAs). Meanwhile, rural Arizona continues to operate under what Silvertooth calls "19th-century water law"—a Wild West approach where the only rule is that there are no rules.
"If you own land and you can punch a well, you can pump all the water you want," Silvertooth explained in what could be the most expensive game of 'finders keepers' ever played.
The crisis has reached such dramatic proportions in Cochise County that the state is considering its first-ever new AMA in the Wilcox Basin. Local residents, watching their water tables drop faster than property values near a Superfund site, have gone from voting against regulation in 2022 to practically begging for it today. Nothing quite changes minds like dry wells and land subsidence—Mother Nature's way of saying, "I told you so."
But wait, it gets better.
Enter stage right: a Saudi Arabian company is pumping Arizona groundwater to grow alfalfa in the Kingman area. Yes, you read that right—precious desert water is being exported in the form of cattle feed to the Middle East. It's perfectly legal under current law, even as neighboring wells run dry.
Attorney General Chris Mays is contemplating legal action against this "lawful nuisance," though Silvertooth points out that the legal precedent isn't promising. "In 2005, there was a case that went all the way to the Ninth District Court of Appeals... Using Arizona law, they determined that these agricultural entities were not breaking the law."
Meanwhile, the Colorado River situation has devolved into what amounts to a seven-state game of chicken. The upper basin states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico) and lower basin states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) are locked in an impasse that would make Congress look cooperative.
"They just had a meeting two weeks ago... The folks who are directly involved in those negotiations that I've visited with say they're really not making much progress right now," Silvertooth reported.
The legislature, for its part, seems more interested in expanding school vouchers than in addressing water infrastructure. The Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority received half its promised funding—a classic case of penny-wise and aquifer-foolish. When asked about updating the 1980 Groundwater Management Act, some legislators, like Senator J.D. Mesnard responded with a dismissive "maybe not."
Agriculture, using 70% of the state's water, sits at the center of this controversy. But as Silvertooth warns, we need "facts and not these decisions aren't being driven by perceptions and by emotion."
Arizona's agricultural sector achieves "the highest production per area, per acre in the world, and some of the highest qualities." The question isn't whether to preserve agriculture or urban development—it's how to manage water sustainably for both.
With 2026 looming as the deadline for new Colorado River guidelines and climate change turning up the heat (quite literally - 2024 was Arizona's hottest year on record), the state finds itself at a crossroads. Will Arizona finally drag its rural water law into the 21st century, or will we continue watching this slow-motion train wreck of resource depletion?
As Silvertooth reminds us, "We're in Arizona. We can pretty much count on it being hot." The question is whether our water policy will finally start reflecting that reality.
👯 People Mentioned
Bill Buckmaster: Show host, birthday celebrant
"Two birthday cakes here. Can you imagine after a couple of pieces of cake?"
Kim Adair: Arizona Bowl head for 6.5 years
"We commit 100% of our net proceeds back to local charities"
Dr. Jeff Silvertooth: UA professor, agricultural expert
"Agriculture uses 70% of the water in this state, but we use that water very effectively"
Snoop Dogg: Hip-hop icon, Arizona Bowl partner
(Referenced as bringing youth football programs to Tucson)
Chris Mays: Arizona Attorney General
Taking legal action against Saudi water usage
J.D. Mesnard: Republican Senator
Dismissed need for updating 1980 Groundwater Management Act
Dr. Dre: Music producer, Gin and Juice co-owner
(Referenced as business partner)
Jimmy Iovine: Music industry mogul
"World renowned record producer... helped Dre launch beats by Dre started Amazon music"
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Anyone in Arizona that pays attention knows the threat of depleting the ground water. That a foreign entity can pump all they want with impunity is totally unacceptable. I am tired of hand wringing and want solutions. What can we do to change this egregious situation. Solutions please.