A small rural town in Arizona is quite literally disappearing into the ground.
Located about 75 miles southeast of the Colorado River, Wenden residents have been forced to dig deeper and deeper underground to access water. According to NBC News, the unincorporated community of less than 1,000 people sinks nearly three inches every year.
It's only getting worse as residents find themselves in an impossible battle with massive corporations over the area's dwindling water supply.
“It’s a train wreck waiting to happen,” said Gary Saiter, who leads Wendon’s water district. “In the last 15 years, Wendon itself has sunk into a subsidence bowl. We sink at another 2.2 inches per year.”
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Like many communities including Los Angeles, the town traditionally relied on water from the nearby Colorado River.
But as climate change continues to drop river levels, Wenden has become entirely dependent on groundwater and they're draining it far faster than nature can replenish it.
“It’s absolutely out of balance. It’s not sustainable,” Saiter added.
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A study by Arizona State University revealed that the process is happening across the Colorado River Basin.
“Just the way air keeps the tire pumped up, water keeps the land pumped up,” explained Jay Famiglietti, the professor who led the study. “Clay minerals are flat, and so when the water that’s between them disappears, gets pumped out, then the flat minerals stack up, kind of like dishes in a sink, and that has the impact of lowering the ground surface."
Another Arizona State University study found that nearly 80 percent of the state has no groundwater regulations, meaning corporations don't have to report how much water they're taking. Even worse, it’s impossible to know how much groundwater now remains, the report claimed.
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The lack of oversight has created a troubling situation for local business owners, such as Rob McDermott, who operates an RV park in Wenden. After nearby over-pumping dried out his well, McDermott was forced to dig an 800-foot replacement well that cost him $120,000.
The situation has become so severe that Arizona's Attorney General, Kris Mayes, has filed a lawsuit against Fondomonte, a megafarm company owned by Almarai, Saudi Arabia's largest dairy company.
Mayes' office estimates that Fondomonte has used up over 80 percent of the groundwater in the area.
“The water has disappeared for them because the Saudis are sucking it out of the ground,” Mayes stated. “I think this is the ultimate David vs. Goliath situation.”
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The lack of groundwater regulations also means companies can buy water and land usage rights in communities like Wenden, pump the water, and then sell it to people in completely different areas.
Fondomonte defended their practices, suggesting that its water use is reasonable and that the company makes a 'conscious effort to manage water use.'