The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy recently released “Agriculture & Water in the West: A Community Takes Charge,” a film that documents the views of Cochise County stakeholders who rely on rural groundwater supplies.
Cochise County stakeholders — residents, industries, municipal officials, and local farmers — depend on groundwater resources for their livelihoods. Unfortunately, water levels have declined in response to withdrawals that far exceed natural aquifer recharge, a situation that has led to conflicts and that has been exacerbated by industrial agriculture and commercial pumping.
To promote collaboration, the Lincoln Institute’s Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy and ASU’s Water Innovation Initiative helped assemble stakeholders from the Sulphur Springs Valley for a facilitated workshop. The film shows footage from this workshop, whose goal was to help stakeholders find common ground. The workshop, which helped precipitate the formation of the Sulphur Springs Water Alliance, utilized an exploratory scenario planning (“XSP”) process to help plan for uncertain economic, social, and climate trends affecting the future of water and agriculture. Learn more about this process here »