Editing Sahuarita, Arizona (section)

===Water sustainability===
In the desert southwest, water sustainability is a major concern. According to a 2007 report by Pima County, {{convert|76000|acre.ft}} of water was pumped from the aquifer in the Upper Santa Cruz Valley in 2006 [in the report referred to as the Green Valley area, which includes Sahuarita], with 85 percent of that water being used for mining and agriculture. The remaining 15 percent was split between water used for golf courses and residential/commercial water use. The report explains that "The Green Valley area does not have a sustainable water supply given current groundwater pumping rates... the water table in Green Valley has been declining in past years, and is expected to decline even faster as water demands [continue to increase]...". The report concludes that "Water supplies will become critical within the next ten years."<ref name=long-term-water>{{cite web | date = October 2, 2007 | url = http://www.pima.gov/pdf/Long-Term%20Green%20Valley%20Water%20Supply%20.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081001110309/http://www.pima.gov/pdf/Long-Term%20Green%20Valley%20Water%20Supply%20.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 1, 2008 | title = Long Term Green Valley Water Supply | publisher = Pima County | access-date = November 30, 2007 }}</ref>

The Upper Santa Cruz Valley has several "major water users", all pumping water out of the same aquifer. None of these are owned by Pima County, the town of Sahuarita, nor Green Valley. The major water users are all private companies: ASARCO-Mission Mine, Phelps Dodge Sierrita Mine; Farmers Water Company; Sahuarita Water Company, Las Quintas Serenas Water Company, Quail Creek Water Company, Community Water Company of Green Valley, and the Green Valley Water District. The proliferation of water companies can be partially explained by the fact that the actual water in the aquifer is not owned by anyone,{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} thus any amount of water can be pumped out, with costs limited only to drilling, pumping, distribution, etc.<ref name=gal>{{cite web|year=2007|url=http://www.g-a-l.info/|title=Groundwater Awareness League|work=Representing the voice of the people... about their water supply|publisher=GAL|access-date=November 30, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009180954/http://www.g-a-l.info/|archive-date=October 9, 2007}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2012}}