Global Water Resources has completed its acquisition of Farmers Water Co., a subsidiary of Farmers Investment Co. (FICO), in the Sahuarita area.
The acquisition adds about 3,300 water service connections and 21.5 square miles of service area in Sahuarita and the surrounding unincorporated area. It increases Global Water’s total active water service connections in Pima County to nearly 5,000, according to the company.
Global Water acquired Las Quintas Serenas in November 2021, its seventh acquisition in Pima County and the second in Sahuarita.
The purchase puts Global Water in a good position as the designated water provider for the Sahuarita Farms Master Plan, which will transition FICO’s 7,000 acres of pecan groves and 12 miles of Santa Cruz riverfront into multi-use commercial, residential and recreational spaces over the next 50 years. It’s estimated the development will grow the water provider to more than 20,000 metered connections.
The Town of Sahuarita threatened to put the sale to a vote last spring as part of a condemnation (eminent domain) process to buy the water company. Town officials said controlling water and sewer service in its Sahuarita East Conceptual Area Plan (SEACAP) area would give it a better shot at annexing more than 30,000 acres so it can grow to the east. Farmers Water would have served that area. The town walked back those plans after opting to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Global Water Resources where the water provider committed to support the town’s growth and long-term development by providing regional water infrastructure, strategic planning and water utility expertise.
Global Water plans to retain all Farmers Water employees and maintain a local customer service center.
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