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More About ADWR
The Arizona Department of Water Resources works to secure long-term
dependable water supplies for Arizona's communities.
The Department:
- administers and enforces Arizona’s groundwater code, and surface water
rights laws (except those related to water quality);
- negotiates with external political entities to protect Arizona's Colorado
River water supply;
- oversees the use of surface and groundwater resources under state
jurisdiction, and
- represents Arizona in discussions of water rights with the federal
government.
In addition, the Department explores methods of augmenting water supplies to
meet future demands, and develops policies that promote conservation and
equitable distribution of water. The Department also inspects dams and
participates in flood control planning to prevent property damage, personal
injury, and loss of life. In support of these activities, ADWR collects and
analyzes data on water levels and on water-quality characteristics. Other
responsibilities include management of floodplains and non-federal dams to
reduce loss of life and damage to property. ADWR is not a municipal water
provider.
In 1980, the Arizona Department of Water Resources
(ADWR) was created to ensure dependable long-term water supplies for Arizona's growing
communities. The ADWR administers state water laws (except those related to water
quality), explores methods of augmenting water supplies to meet future demands, and works
to develop public policies that promote conservation and equitable distribution of water.
The ADWR oversees the use of surface and groundwater resources under state jurisdiction
and negotiates with external political entities to protect and augment Arizona's water
supply. The Director is appointed by the Governor and requires Senate confirmation.
Groundwater Management
To address groundwater depletion in the state's most populous areas,
the state legislature created the Groundwater Management Code in 1980 and directed ADWR to
implement it. The goal of the Code is twofold: 1) to control severe groundwater depletion,
and 2) to provide the means for allocating Arizona's limited groundwater resources to most
effectively meet the state's changing water needs. This effort to manage Arizona's
groundwater resources was so progressive that in 1986 the Code was named one of the ten
most innovative programs in state and local government by the Ford Foundation and Harvard
University. When granting the award, it was noted that no other state had attempted to
manage its water resources so comprehensively. Accordingly, Arizona built consensus around
its policy and then followed through to make it work in practice.
Active Management Areas - Areas where groundwater depletion is
most severe are designated as Active Management Areas (AMAs). There are five AMAs (see
map): Prescott, Phoenix, Pinal, Tucson, and Santa Cruz. These areas are subject to
regulation pursuant to the Groundwater Code. In the Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson and Santa
Cruz AMAs, the primary management goal is safe-yield by the year 2025. Safe-yield is
accomplished when no more groundwater is being withdrawn than is being annually replaced.
In the Pinal AMA, where the economy is primarily agricultural, the management goal is to
preserve that economy for as long as feasible, while considering the need to preserve
groundwater for future non-irrigation uses. Each AMA carries out its programs in a manner
consistent with these goals, while considering and incorporating the unique character of
each AMA and its water users.
Management Plans - Management plans reflect the evolution of
the Groundwater Code, moving Arizona toward its long-term water management goals.
Management plans are required from each AMA for five sequential management periods
extending from 1980 through 2025. The First Management Plan applied from 1985-1990. The
Second Management Plan was in effect until 2000, and the Third Management
Plan from 2001 until 2010.
ADWR is in the initial stages of formulating the Fourth Management Plan (FMP), scheduled for adoption
before 2010. The
provisions of the FMP will be in effect from 2010-2020.
Assured and Adequate Water Supply Programs - The Groundwater
Code established requirements to ensure that water supplies are adequate to meet the
long-term needs of new development. The Assured Water Supply Program requires new
subdivisions within AMAs to demonstrate that sufficient water supplies of adequate quality
are physically, continuously and legally available for 100 years. New rules associated
with this program promote the use of renewable supplies, such as effluent and water
delivered via the Central Arizona Project, as a component of an assured supply.
For areas outside AMAs, the Adequate Water Supply Program requires that a potential buyer
be informed of the water status of the property, but does not prevent the sale of property
when a 100-year supply is not available. Requirements under these programs serve to
protect consumers against the sale of subdivided land that lacks an available long-term
source of water.
Recharge Programs - Provisions for recharge programs included
in the Groundwater Code allow injection of surface water or treated wastewater into an
aquifer for storage. Through recharge programs, surplus renewable water supplies can be
stored for use in the future.
Water Bank -
The 1996 Legislature created the Arizona Water Banking Authority, a twenty-year state
sponsored recharge program. By storing surplus Colorado River water in central and
southern Arizona, the Authority will help safeguard against future shortages on the
Colorado River and assist in meeting the state's groundwater management goals. ADWR
provides staff support to the Authority.
Surface Water Management
ADWR's surface water activities are focused in four areas:
Adjudications, Colorado River Management, Flood Warning and Dam Safety, and Statewide
Water Resource Planning.
Adjudications - The State of Arizona is conducting a general
stream adjudication of water rights in two major portions of the state: the Gila and
Little Colorado River systems. Adjudications are State Superior Court determinations of
the status of all rights to surface water based upon state law and all claims to surface
water based upon federal law within the river systems. The adjudications process will
identify and rank the rights to use water for the users in these areas. ADWR's role in the
process is to provide both administrative and technical assistance to the State Superior
Court.
Colorado River Management - Renewable water supplies of the
Colorado River serve seven states and several Indian tribes. ADWR strives to promote,
protect, and comprehensively manage Arizona's entitlement of 2.8 million acre-feet
annually of Colorado River water. This entitlement is Arizona's water supply for future
growth and critical to the state's progressive water management policies.
Flood Warning and Dam Safety - ADWR is responsible for the
management of non-federal dams to reduce loss of life and damage to
property. Responsibilities include conducting safety inspections of dams and
participating in the development of flood warning systems.
Statewide Planning - ADWR conducts statewide water resource
planning. Statewide planning efforts include technical studies of local areas and
assistance in projecting future water demands. ADWR produces the Arizona Water Resources
Assessment, an extensive inquiry into the state's water status, to assist long-term
planning. ADWR also provides staff support for the Arizona Water Protection Fund
Commission, which was created by the legislature to preserve and enhance flows in rivers
and streams and their associated riparian habitats. The fifteen commission members reflect
a wide range of interests, including representatives from municipal, agricultural and
industrial water users as well as from environmental organizations.
Administration Of Water Rights
Since groundwater use in AMAs is regulated, groundwater pumping in
these areas requires a permit from ADWR. On most of these wells state law assesses
withdrawal fees and requires annual groundwater withdrawal and use reports to be filed.
Groundwater use outside AMAs is not regulated and does not require a permit. Importantly,
drilling a well anywhere in the state requires that a Notice of Intent to Drill be filed
with ADWR.
Surface water is subject to the "doctrine of prior appropriation," meaning that
the first person to put the water to beneficial and reasonable use has a right superior to
later appropriations. Rights to use surface water are designated through a permitting
process at ADWR. Surface water permits may be used to support claims in the adjudications
process. ADWR maintains records related to water rights in both computer and physical
files, which are available to the public.
Hydrology Support
ADWR hydrologists serve as the technical arm of the department,
collecting and analyzing statewide water resource data and maintaining the state's
Groundwater Site Inventory (GWSI) database. Hydrologic conditions are calculated and
analyzed in preparing reports in response to legislative and judicial request, public
inquiries and water management planning efforts. ADWR hydrologists are often recruited to
work on the scientific components of specific research projects and are also consulted in
making determinations on permit applications.
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