Contributed article
WILLCOX — Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Thursday a settlement agreement between Arizona and Riverview, LLP, to reduce Riverview’s groundwater usage and deliver $11 million to impacted residents for well-drilling, water-hauling and groundwater access.
This groundwater access settlement is the first of its kind in Arizona and across the country. The settlement includes new water conservation and groundwater access practices implemented by Riverview, to fallow or transition to a different use 2,000 acres of irrigated farmland and establish two $5.5 million funds to help ensure continued access to potable water for residents of the Sulphur Springs Valley in Cochise County.
“This settlement sets a new precedent in Arizona — one where businesses commit to being good neighbors to the communities they operate in and make meaningful efforts to reduce pumping of our most precious resource — groundwater,” Mayes said. “As a daughter of rural Arizona, I can’t imagine anything more important than paving a new way forward to conserve groundwater and protect a future for the rural communities like Willcox and the Sulphur Springs Valley that define Arizona.”
In the agreement, the Attorney General and Riverview emphasize that agriculture is a cornerstone of the valley’s economy and heritage, but that groundwater levels continue to decline and residents in the Sulphur Springs Valley continue to face resulting challenges.
“The legislature has failed for years to protect the residents of rural Arizona from groundwater depletion, so my office has stepped in to do it for them,” Mayes said. “Today’s announcement is an immediate and concrete action to address the increasingly dangerous depletion of groundwater in rural parts of our state.”
New Water Conservation
Pursuant to the agreement, Riverview will fallow a total of 2,000 acres of irrigated farmland or transition the acreage to a different land use, such as grazing, habitat, or other non-row crops over the next 12 years. Riverview will have strict reporting requirements on the acreage reduction. Riverview is prohibited from selling or transferring ownership of the land without maintaining the non-row crop use of the land or fallowing an equivalent number of substitute acreage. Riverview also agrees to continue its best management practices for its irrigated agricultural operations, including the use of pivots, drop hoses, and low energy precision application systems, pumps with variable frequency drives, pivot control and automation, and other superior practices.
$11 Million for Well Drilling, Water-Hauling and Groundwater Access
Riverview has agreed to deposit $11 million into two funds to help ensure Sulphur Springs Valley residents have continued access to potable water. These funds will provide assistance for replacement of groundwater wells and emergency or interim residential water supply measures and support for existing community water systems. The Riverview Funding Commitment will be directed to residents impacted within a 1.6-mile radius of any Riverview Irrigation Well. The Sulphur Springs Water Fund will assist residents impacted outside a 1.6-mile radius of any Riverview Irrigation Well.
Regardless of proximity to any Riverview Irrigation Well, both funds are available to specifically designated schools located outside the 1.6-mile radius of a Riverview Irrigation Well: the Ash Creek Elementary School, Elfrida Elementary School, Valley Union High School, Cochise Elementary School, and McNeal Elementary School. Both funds encourage multi-party applications from residents working together to jointly construct a shared water systems to encourage efficient water infrastructure investment. To ensure compliance with the agreement, both funds will provide periodic reports to the Arizona Attorney General’s office.
“We have been dealing with water shortages for some time. The negotiations between the people involved right now is a good one,” said retired Mayor of Willcox Mike Laws. “The figure that was thrown at me was $11 million to help people in the area dig new wells deeper than the ones they have. The math may not be exact but it’s about 25 to 30,000 I think to dig a new well. This money can be put to good use and could possibly help more than 300 families that have no water or is hauling water to live as normal as they can.”
Sulphur Springs Water Fund (SSWF) – $5.5 Million
This $5.5 million in funding for groundwater access for those outside of a 1.6-mile radius will be administered by a third-party nonprofit and a Review Panel of five members appointed by the Sulphur Spring Alliance, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, the Arizona State University Sustainability Institute, the Water Resources Research Center of the University of Arizona, and the nonprofit. This money will be prioritized for impacted individuals to replace or re-drill groundwater wells and provide access to tank systems, water fill stations, and water-hauling. This fund will be available to receive applications beginning April 8, 2026. Other than making the required contributions, Riverview will not have any approval, veto, or control over the Sulphur Springs Water Fund uses, policies, awards, or administration.
Riverview Funding Commitment – $5.5 Million
This $5.5 million for groundwater access for those inside a 1.6-mile radius will be administered by Riverview in accordance with the terms of the agreement. This fund will also support the construction and installation of replacement groundwater wells, tank systems, water fill stations, and water-hauling services for residential use, and the funding and expansion of existing community water systems. The money will be available for impacted residents, schools, and special districts, water companies, or municipalities that provide domestic water services.
Riverview has agreed to a schedule of contributions to this fund over the next 20 years, with acceleration measures if there are outstanding claim requests.
“Thanks to the Attorney General and the folks at Riverview for coming together to establish an opportunity that could last many generations. This offers some mechanisms for communities to come together to pool funds for water and the betterment of the whole group and the whole community,” said Ed Curry, fourth-generation Chile farmer in Pearce and president of Curry Seed and Chile Company. “This kind of agreement can bring peace across all of rural Arizona, not just Willcox. This brings some good hope, not only for today, but for many generations to come, to help us keep rural Arizona sustainable.”
