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<br />Farms swallowing most of Arizona's water <br /> <br />Page 1 of 4 <br /> <br />000109 <br /> <br />aZ ratcom <br /> <br />zia <br /> <br />Email this article <br />Print this article <br />Most popular pages <br /> <br />Click to send <br />Click to print <br />Today I This Week <br /> <br />Farms swallowing most of Arizona's <br /> <br />water <br />A.griculture helped prevent statefrom exhausting supply <br /> <br />Shaun McKinnon <br />The Arizona Republic <br />Jan. 3, 200510:50 AM <br /> <br />We live in a desert state and, some would say, in a state of denial. <br /> <br />The arid conditions are obvious - Phoenix receives less rain in a year than some <br />American cities get in a month, there's only one natural lake of any size and few <br />rivers even flow year-round. But we use water sometimes as if the supply were <br />endless. <br /> <br />In an average year, Arizonans go through about 7.25 million acre-feet, or nearly 2.4 <br />trillion gallons. Put a different way, that amount of water could support a residential <br />population of nearly 30 million people. <br /> <br />Except it doesn't. It's supporting a population of 5.7 million - and a lot of farms, which <br />use about 68 percent of the state's water. <br /> <br />Agriculture has always used the largest share of Arizona's water, producing cotton, <br />citrus, lettuce, alfalfa and other products that add up to a $2.4 billion-a-year-industry. <br />Farmers will argue that they have become more efficient and probably pay better <br />attention to water use than the average homeowner. <br /> <br />"The commitment of Arizona farmers to use technology that saves water is <br />remarkable," said Jim Henness, a Cas a Grande farmer who reduces runoff by <br />leveling fields with lasers. <br /> <br />Farmers have also served as an important buffer for the state's water supply, in <br />effect holding on to a reserve that could be used in dry times or converted to <br />residential use. But as farms give way to subdivisions, the reserve is shrinking and <br />water once used in fields is now claimed by homes and businesses. <br /> <br />That change in demand is forcing water providers to watch more carefully the way <br />water is used and look for ways to better manage it as the supply tightens. <br /> <br />In Greater Phoenix, farms now use about 46 percent of the supply, down from two- <br />thirds or more just 30 years ago. Industry - mostly power plants, sand and gravel <br />operations, and golf courses - uses about 6 percent. The rest is residential, business <br />and government - everything from Arizona State University's 50 ,ODD-student Tempe <br />campus to your back yard. <br /> <br />Charles Buerger, who divides his year between homes in Gilbert and suburban <br />Chicago, is sometimes surprised that people in northern Illinois, on the banks of <br />Lake Michigan, seem more concerned about water use than people in dry Arizona. <br /> <br />"They have every-other-day grass watering back there," Buerger said. "They fine <br />you if you're overwatering or if you're watering on days you're not supposed to. <br />They're very conscious about water supplies. The way Arizona's growing, you just <br />wonder, 'Where's all this water coming from?' " <br /> <br />Arizona isn't on the edge of the Great Lakes, but parts of it do sit atop vast <br /> <br />http://www . azcentra1.com/php-bin/ c1icktrack/print. php ?referer=http://www.azcentra1.com/...1/24/2005 <br />