President of the Yuma County Water Users Association Retires

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Jim Cuming, president of the Yuma County Water Users' Association, retires after over 51 years of service.

Jim Cuming is a life-long resident of Yuma County and a third-generation farmer who is passionate and dedicated to preserving water in the Colorado River basin.

Yuma County has the most senior water rights on the Colorado River, in the country, as they were granted to each piece of land in the homestead act.

Cuming says he has been fighting to maintain these rights to forever preserve farming in the Yuma valley.

“Jim went from when cotton was king when produce is king. Started farming in the early 60’s and his father and grandfather before him, so he’s a walking history of this valley,” said Tom Davis, the Yuma County Water Users' Association manager.

Cuming says he has enjoyed being a part of the Yuma county Water Users Association for over half of his life.

“Water has a lot of different uses, it’s not just irrigating crops or drinking water or irrigating your lawn at your house, you know it’s an integral part of the whole society you might say. It’s been a joy doing what I’ve done through my life,” said Cuming.

And although Cuming will no longer be president, he says  will always care about the future of Yuma’s water.

“We have to protect it, take care of it, do the best we can with what we have to work with and it looks like we’re not going to have near as much to work with in the future right now as we’ve had, so we have to tighten our belts a little bit,” said Cuming.

With Cuming’s retirement, the Yuma County Water Users' Association board elected Hank Auza of the Barkley Company.

As the new president, who will continue Cuming’s legacy in advocating for water, not only for Yuma county, but for the local farmers providing produce for people across North America.