Wikimedia Commons/Gerard Hogervorst
Wikimedia Commons/Gerard Hogervorst
McMullen Valley has been experiencing a decrease in groundwater, and a Phoenix newspaper pointed out heavy agricultural practices as a reason for the decline.
However, this didn’t sit well with the President of the McMullen Valley Chamber of Commerce, Jim Downing, who said the decline in groundwater has been happening since the wells were drilled, according to Parker Pioneer.
Following the stories published in the Phoenix newspaper, Downing made these remarks in the meeting of the chamber board that took place on March 10.
Downing said water levels were dropping by 10 feet annually during the 1980s when local residents farmed 10,000 acres of cotton, compared to now where water levels are dropping by three feet annually. The result of the reduced decline in groundwater has been caused by farmers shifting to crops that use less water.
Downing said that in the early 1980s, the City of Phoenix purchased land in an attempt to divert McMullen water to Phoenix. However, after determining that it would cost them a fortune to achieve this, they sold the land to a private company.
He said in 1986, there were approximately 68 irrigation wells compared to 20 in 2011.
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