Arizona has the reputation of being a desert, but in reality it is a state that is half-desert and half-mountain, and has a tons of water. Enough to waste on ubiquitous golf courses and alfalfa farms. There is a canal system taking the water from the mountains to the drier south where people live.
But the population pressures are realigning who pays what for the water now, so I expect the alfalfa farms are going to go, and chip fabs will take their place.
The thing you don't mention is that Arizona is wasting other people's water -- nearly 40% is sourced from rivers originating in other mountainous states
I don't mention it because it's not true. The idea that if a river originates in one state, then that state owns all the water from the river is not how ownership of river water works. And in America, rivers often form the border of states, so there are always competing claims about which state gets which percentage of the river. These are generally settled through treaties and agreements among states, and those agreements were made also for the Colorado river. Arizona is only taking its share of the water as per the treaty, not someone else's share.
And it's share of water was already insufficient a decade ago, which is why the water table has run dry in many rural areas, forcing people to truck in bottled water or pack up and leave.
> Arizona has the reputation of being a desert, but in reality it is a state that is half-desert and half-mountain, and has a tons of water.
The mountainous areas are 'high deserts'. Most of Arizona's water is underground. It's being pumped out faster than it's replaced. Old wells go dry all the time, because newer wells are deeper.
"The Sonoran Desert's bi-seasonal rainfall pattern results in more plant species than any other desert in the world. The Sonoran Desert includes plant genera and species from the agave family, palm family, cactus family, legume family, and numerous others." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonoran_Desert#Flora
> There is a canal system taking the water from the mountains to the drier south where people live.
The Central Arizona Project pumps water straight east from Lake Havasu (738 ft elevation) to Phoenix (1086 ft elevation), then south to Tucson (2388 ft elevation).
The Salt River Project [SRP] buffers water from the rivers that run through the Phoenix area, and diverts the rivers into canals for delivery to the Phoenix area. Before the dams, the Salt and Verde rivers ran year-round. SRP modernized/expanded the Hohokam's ancient canals.
But the population pressures are realigning who pays what for the water now, so I expect the alfalfa farms are going to go, and chip fabs will take their place.