AG Mayes Announces Historic $11 Million Groundwater Settlement with Out-of-State Dairy Company in Cochise County

Agreement, announced January 8, will conserve more than 100,000 acre-feet of water over 12 years in Willcox basin

Attorney General Kris Mayes in Cochise County announcing the $11 million settlement with Riverview LLP

Back in 2015, a Minnesota-based dairy company moved into Cochise County. Since its arrival in the Willcox Basin, residents have watched as the company’s extensive groundwater pumping has contributed to the rapid decline of the basin, with wells across the area running dry. 

For years, local residents and officials have raised concerns about the worsening groundwater crisis. 

Last Thursday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, alongside Riverview LLP, the Minnesota-based company, announced they had reached an $11 million settlement agreement. 

Tara Clayton, a long-time Cochise County resident and organizer with Rural Arizona Engagement (RAZE), said she has grown increasingly concerned about water sustainability across Arizona, particularly in rural areas that lack municipal infrastructure.

“The settlement reached between the Attorney General's office and Riverview Dairy is a significant step toward developing partnerships and boundaries with agribusinesses that will ensure long-term water sustainability for residents of Arizona,” said Clayton. “Thank you to all who were involved in mediating this monumental settlement. May it be a foundation we can use to ensure water for many future generations.”

The $11 million settlement will be divided into two funds of $5.5 million each. These funds will be used to support impacted residents for replacement wells, tank systems, and water-fill stations.

“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, the whole community,” said Ed Curry, a local farmer in the Willcox area. “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.”

Tom Prezelski, senior policy advisor and long-time water advocate at RAZE, expressed his appreciation that AG Mayes listened to the people of Cochise County.

“For years, the legislature has refused to act in the face of the water crisis in rural Arizona. AG Mayes listened to the people of Cochise County and took action where others did not,” said Prezelski. “This settlement is a first step in assuring the water future for thousands of Arizonans and will be a model for other communities in the state impacted by out-of-state investor-owned agribusiness operations.”

With this agreement in place, more than 100,000 acre-feet of water will be conserved over the next 12 years.

“There is much more to be done, but I do think that this is the first-of-its-kind agreement, not just in this state, but anywhere in the country, where a major ag user has agreed to fund a fund like this and has agreed to fallow this much acreage,” Mayes said. “I don’t think there’s anything more important than standing up for rural Arizona, and I will promise you, I will continue to do that.”