The Groundwater Management Act established areas of increased regulation in Arizona's most populous and fastest growing areas, which were and are heavily reliant on mined groundwater (water pulled from underground aquifers using wells). These areas of increased regulation are known as Active Management Areas (AMAs). AMAs are made up of numerous provisions and programs, one of which is the Assured Water Supply Program, which limits the use of groundwater by new subdivisions.
The Groundwater Management Act only increased regulation within AMAs, as described above. Rural Arizona was left unregulated, and rural communities now find themselves experiencing high rates of aquifer depletion. Most of these areas rely entirely on groundwater.
Unfortunately, there are currently no bills moving in the legislature that help address this rural groundwater disparity. In fact, instead, there is SB1221. SB1221 basin management areas; appropriation (Kerr: Griffin) establishes a process for creating basin management areas via a petition with signatures from 15 percent of the registered voters in the basin.
These basin management areas can only be established if there is already significant harm – land subsidence is endangering property or affecting water storage, and there is an accelerated decline in groundwater levels. The process for actually creating a basin management area is so convoluted and difficult and there are so many ways to stop or hinder it, we think it would be truly surprising if one was ever established if this bill became law. There is a unanimous approval requirement to establish an area to in theory reduce groundwater pumping.
Considering that there is such a significant groundwater mining issue in many parts of rural Arizona and considering that these areas are frequently totally reliant on groundwater, it is disappointing to again see a bill that not only does not address these issues, but actually may make them worse by codifying groundwater mining in these areas as it does not curb the overpumping of groundwater.
The bill prohibits metering of wells, so they cannot even get a handle on how much is being pumped. There is nothing in the bill to address protection of surface water from excessive groundwater pumping either. That is essential in any comprehensive rural groundwater management measure.
Please ask your representatives to vote no on SB1221. We need a strong groundwater bill, not more of the same or worse.