© CBS5PHOENIX (CBS5) -
The city of Phoenix has sold land in La Paz County, purchased in 1986 to harvest groundwater, for $30 million.
International Farming Corporation purchased the approximately 12,900 acres of land, which the city put for sale in November 2011.
The city used the land to supplement water for Phoenix's supply, but the cost to import it from McMullen Valley to Phoenix became too expensive, City Councilman Bill Gates said.
The money will be used to pay off land debt and the remaining balance will be deposited to the city's water fund to help prevent future rate adjustments, City Manager David Cavazos said.
"This is the right thing to do at just the right time," Mayor Greg Stanton said. "Innovative ideas like this are what we need to make our underutilized assets advantageous to our city and our residents."
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