In western Arizona, corporate megafarms turn water into profits, leaving small towns in the dust

Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Fondomonte

By Rob O’Dell, and Ian James | Arizona Republic

It was a triumph for the eight-man Salome High School football team. Clad in all green uniforms except for white helmets and socks, the Frogs smashed opponent Mayer 60-0 in front of a raucous homecoming crowd. 

Everything for the Frogs had come up green under the Friday night lights. Except for the football field they were playing on.

This gridiron was a patchwork of dying yellow grass marbled with large brown splotches of dirt. The only green to be found other the Frogs’ uniforms were small circles of grass around the field’s sprinkler heads. 

The high school has been asked not to water the field because the Salome Water Company won’t have enough water pressure for residents to take showers or flush their toilets. And while the football field looks bad, it’s better than the other sports fields the district barely waters at all. 

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