Haibun: Arizona's Water
Last week, the state of Arizona decided not to renew the lease on some farm land a Saudi Arabia company used to pump massive amounts of water from under the state to grow hay for their cattle. Last month, the Reveal podcast broke that a farm owned by the UAE, one that grew hay like the Saudis, brought in the Arizona State Pension fund to share their profits in growing hay with this water. These aquifers take at least a thousand years to replenish in a state that needs to dam up every river for its survival.
In the desert, water takes on a different meaning. Back in Upstate New York, there were creeks everywhere. It was common for people to have lake houses. Here, the lakes are really reservoirs created by the Bureau of Reclamation a 100 years ago, all to irrigate the fields and thirsts of those who reclaimed Native lands.
So, sitting by the Salt River, the water lapping, it is a gift. Yes, each drop has passed through countless dams and at least three reservoirs to get here, but it laps just the same. It laps the same as when the Tonto Apache used it 200 years ago, and the Hohokom 800 years ago. I appreciate it.
But the promise is that with the dams the water is consistent and there are no longer prolonged droughts as there was when Phoenix was becoming the destination for Confederate veterans. With the technology the highest bidder, and not the best interest, gets the water.
Corruption will always be the downside of controlling the water or being paid to ignore the depletion of our aquifers.
or hear but the lapping waves
as fall sneaks on in
