A tale of two deserts: Are Saudi cows to blame for Arizona's water crisis?

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2023

⏱️ 24 minutes

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Summary

While the taps are running dry and reservoirs are disappearing in Arizona, a corporate farm from Saudi Arabia is pumping massive amounts of groundwater to grow alfalfa for cows back in the Middle East. Now, after years of inaction, Arizonans are pointing the finger at what they see as a foreign invader slurping up the last gulps of a diminishing water supply. But the truth is more complicated. In this episode, we dig deep into the history of Arizona’s water crisis and uncover a tale of dates, camels and dairy cows, and try to find out who’s really to blame for the West’s water crisis. Featuring: Natalie Koch. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter. Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook If you’ve got a question for the Outside/Inbox hotline, give us a call! We’re always looking for rabbit holes to dive down into. Leave us a voicemail at: 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837), or email us at outsidein@nhpr.org. LINKS Read Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia, by Natalie Koch. Listen to the six-part podcast series Thirst Gap: Learning to live with less on the Colorado River, by KUNC. Listen to Parched, a podcast about people who rely on the river that shaped the West, and have ideas to save it, by Colorado Public Radio. CREDITS Host: Nate Hegyi Produced by Felix Poon and Nate Hegyi Mixed by Felix Poon Edited by Taylor Quimby Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know the type of suburbs that tend to wind around golf courses?
0:04.0	The ones with big houses whose windows must break all the time from wayward golf balls?
0:10.0	That's Rio Verde.
0:11.2	It's a suburb in Scottsdale, Arizona, built in 1973 to attract retirees.
0:16.2	Our 27,000-square-foot clubhouse is the social center of the community.
0:20.9	They've got pickleball, tennis courts, we hose twilight golf events, dinner dances,
0:27.0	concerts and jazz events that bring in perfect...
0:29.4	But what they don't have right now is a reliable source of running water.
0:35.2	The taps are dry in Rio Verde, foothills.
0:38.9	Since January 1st, people there have been skipping showers, eating off paper plates,
0:44.3	and when it's yellow, letting it mellow.
0:47.1	Residents getting creative.
0:48.4	I'm happy I have a pool because every time it rains, at least I can site for that.
0:52.0	We use it mostly for showering, for washing clothes, the bathroom.
0:58.0	Several Verde's long-time water supplier turned off the tap because of the severe drought
1:02.8	that has gripped Arizona and the rest of the west for the past two decades.
1:06.2	A water crisis is unfolding in the nation's southwest, as the mighty Colorado River begins
1:11.4	to dry up as a result of overconsumption and climate change.
1:15.9	Farmers have been forced to fallow fields, reservoirs are disappearing, a major dam could
1:20.9	stop producing power as early as this summer.
1:24.3	And it's raising questions about who gets to use Arizona's diminishing water supply
1:29.6	and for what?
	...

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