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Locals Shut Down Water Transfer Proposal to Maricopa County

Over 200 people filled Yuma City hall Thursday, Nov. 21, for an AZ Department of Water Resources public hearing on a proposed sale of water rights from La Paz County to Queen Creek, Arizona.

GSC Farm LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, wants to sell its annual entitlement of nearly 2,100-acre feet of Colorado River water.  They purchased 485 acres of farmland near Cibola in La Paz County. 

It needs Water Resources Department approval to take its water rights transfer to the Bureau of Reclamation.  GSC Farm attorney Grady Gamage Jr., says it’s his client’s contention that with the purchase of the property, it owns the water rights.

State Senator Lisa Otondo of Yuma, a member of the Steering Committee of the recently approved Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan, says GSC’s contention is all wet.

Rights transfer opponents worry its approval sets the precedent for future transfers. 

GSC Farm is a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Greenstone, which on its website calls itself a developer of reliable, sustainable water supplies in the western U.S. 

It’s a company that opponents of the transfer say has purchased a number of properties in Yuma County.

department_of_water_resources_hearing_otondo.mp3
State Senator Lisa Otondo also addresses the proposed sale of water rights from La Paz County to Queen Creek, Arizona.

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