Last August, following a public hearing, the Arizona Department of Water Resources adopted its management goal for the citizen-approved Douglas Active Management Area. I objected to the goal and subsequently filed a “Judicial Review of Administrative Decision” appeal. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney is expected to issue a ruling soon, and the future of rural Arizona hangs in the balance. Why such a dramatic statement?

—Written by Christian Sawyer, techno-economic researcher who lives in the Douglas groundwater basin area in southeastern Arizona