Yumans take stand at water listening tour
Thank you to those who spoke out at Friday meeting
Thank you, Yuma. On Friday, Yumans from all corners of the county showed up at a public hearing to deliver a simple message: Our water rights matter, and they are not up for sale.
Around 300 people stopped by Yuma City Hall to share their thoughts with a listening tour featuring state House and Senate members.
The concern stems from bills that have the potential to impact Yuma County’s water rights, shifting allocations from here to other urban areas of the state, such as Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties.
Yumans were asked to show up — and show up they did. The council chambers were standing room only.
We know the importance of our water.
Yuma County provides 80 to 85 percent of the leafy greens and vegetables to the U.S. and Canada five months out of the year, to nearly 350 million people.
And our growing cycle isn’t limited to five months. Yuma farmers make the most of our growing conditions, producing crops all year round in an industry worth an estimated $2 billion annually.
Every year, our farmers focus on fine-tuning their practices to help conserve as much water as possible, doing their part to help a state impacted by drought.
An ongoing irrigation and salinity project found that irrigation techniques used by local farmers exceed 90 percent efficiency, meaning hardly any water is being wasted while growing vegetables, according to a February Yuma Sun report. In fact, researchers found that farmers are using less water and producing more crops — a win-win for everyone.
In Yuma County, our farmers strive to be good stewards of this precious resource — and we aren’t willing to give our water up.
The message was best summed up by Yuma County Supervisor Lynne Pancrazi, who said, “We have plans for our land and our water, and it’s not for sale.”
We appreciate the state officials who were willing to come down to Yuma and listen to residents’ concerns. And to those residents who showed up, thank you for taking a stand. Your voices are appreciated.
DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?