A local country club is facing criticism after signing an agreement to lease groundwater to a mining company. According to state Department of Water Resources records, the Tucson Country Club signed a short-term lease to provide Copper World with up to 75 acre-feet of groundwater per year. The mining company plans to pump the water from its well fields east of the Sahuarita town limits, near a state-designated subsidence feature. The lease is set to expire on Friday, Dec. 31, 2027, while Copper World’s 20-year, 6,000 acre-feet groundwater withdrawal permit from the state expires the following month in January 2028. Environmental advocacy group Save the Scenic Santa Ritas strongly opposed the deal, warning it will further deplete a stressed aquifer.

Other groundwater news:

• SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.): Hanford-area growers agree to new fees they hope will hold off further state intervention
• SJV Water (Bakersfield, Calif.): Will Tulare County water district settlement foster more cooperation or open the door to water exports?
• Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix): Arizona’s groundwater future hinges on 2026 election
• Capitol Weekly (Sacramento, Calif.): Opinion: California needs more than water usage reports. It needs water solutions.