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Farmers fear dry future ` search for Phoeni area homes in the WS I + a cry ew I Bath sa Ft. 8 Mon _ : �trd. �ba 1300 O 6a NEWS SPORTS MONEY ENTERTAINMENT FAMILIES HEALTH FOOD & HOME YES TRAVEL SHOP ESPANOL Print This I Email This I Most Popular I Subscribe I Larger Type I Smaller Type usa today news World & Nation the buzz Weather Education Traffic Info Crime Reports Data Search Police Scanners Local News - Ahwatukee - Chandler - Gilbert - Glendale /Peoria - Mesa - Phoenix - Scottsdale - Sun Cities - SW Valley - Tempe - iExtra! Photo Galleries Video Gallery News Multimedia Web Cams Editorials /Op -Ed - Benson Cartoons - Columnists - Plugged In Politics 2004 - Presidential - The Primaries - Register to vote Arizona Republic - Print Edition - Front Pages Obituaries E -mail Newsletters Space.com Special Reports Border issues Famous in AZ AP en Espanol - Estados Unidos - Politica - Latinoamerica - Internacional All • Advanced search, tips • Archives (from 1999) Farmers fear dry future Cities covet water from fertile valleys near river's end Shaun McKinnon The Arizona Republic Jul. 25, 2004 12:00 AM YUMA - Tim Dunn's double -cab truck bounced along a narrow dirt road on the edge of a Mark Henle /The Arizona Republic cornfield. He stopped at a junction in the Dran canal beds lap up the last of the Colorado River ditch that runs used in the United States, helping farmers in Yuma alongside the road irrigate fields to feed the growing cities of California and and checked the flow Arizona. of water as it spread out among the shoulder -high stalks. "We do get a bad rap for the amount of water we use," he said, inching the truck closer to the edge for a better view of the ditch. "But we use the least amount of water we can. If we let it go too long, it will hurt the crop and we'll get a lower yield. And the land is so valuable and the cost of production is so high, we have to have high yields." Dunn uses lasers and GPS links to level his fields, eliminating wasteful tailwater at the end Related links of the rows. He switched to sprinklers a few • Drought diminishes river years back to germinate seeds, replacing a - Nature demands her share method that involved flooding newly planted • States deal for water fields for days at a time. • Farmers fear dry future • River's headwaters Back on the highway, headed for another determined by politicians, not section of Dunn's farm, it was clear how much geography • Once- vibrant river delta is a farmers here think about water and the low ow priority lengths they go to better use it. Black siphon Tribes win new clout in hoses jut up from ditches, sending controlled Arizona streams of water down rows of cotton plants. • Editorial: Irrational rationing Workers move long, silver sprinkler pipes in - Our river, our future other fields, coaxing new seedlings from the • Take off blinders or face a ground. parched, dusty future • Lack of cooperation will Dunn pointed to a smaller patch of ground as leave us high, dry the truck slowed. "They're growing organic," 0 Scenes along the Colorado he said. "They're using drip irrigation." Sinewy River hoses radiated from a pump, draping the field ; Special report: Next West: with a sort of linear spider web. Phenomenal growth creating tough choices Almost all of the water soaking into the ground here was diverted from the Colorado River, which gives up more than 600,000 acre -feet each year to Yuma fields. Without the river, nothing would grow. In an average year, Yuma gets maybe 3 inches; for 30 months, from mid -2000 to late -2002, no rain fell at all. In the same period, annual cash receipts from crops increased from $725 million to $1.2 billion, underscoring the Colorado's value to Yuma and Yuma's value to the region's economy. • Party puts Clinton name back on marquee • Assassination, more hostages; bomber kills 3 in Mosul • AFL -CIO sees more interest in election • Kerry pushes for stem -cell research in Florida stop • WTC dust is cleared of one danger today's snapshot How often r "` do parents participate in school fundraisers? news as it happens • Kerry urges fast action on post -9/11 measures • Jackson allegedly imprisoned boy, family • Lawyer mum on conversations with husband of missing jogger • Tribulations continue for troubled transformer • Post -9/11 visa checks sap colleges • Iraq will hold national conference beginning July 31 • Turkey on alert after report of possible 9/11 -style attack • About 200 defecting N. Koreans arrives in S. Korea • Muslim charity indicted in Dallas, accused of dealing with terrorists • Dashboard DVD focus of driver's murder trial • Flooding deaths top 1,000 in South Asia • Diplomats: Iran resumes building Page 1 of 6 • autos • jobs • homes I re • stuff • sell your cz + personals • place an at • more find0fas • site map • help • phone bool • maps • archives dkeop c-0t: • local coups • newspaper • tickets http:// Www. azcentral .comispecialslspecia1061 articles /0722colorado- future.html 7/27/2004