For
information regarding the Well Spacing and Impact Rules and
Replacement Wells in the Same Location rule review process
that applies to wells having a maximum pump capacity of
greater than 35 gpm and located within Active Management Areas
(AMA) scroll down or click here.
Effective
January 1, 2006, Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) § 45-454(C)
will prohibit the drilling of an exempt well (a well that has
a maximum pump capacity of not more than thirty-five gallons
per minute and that is used only for non-irrigation purposes)
on land if any part of the land is within 100 feet of the
operating water distribution system of a municipal water
provider that has an assured water supply designation
(designated water provider) within the boundaries of an Active
Management Area (AMA) as shown on a digitized service area map
provided to the Director by the municipal provider and updated
by the municipal provider as specified by the Director.
For list of Designated Water Providers, click
here
(updated October 27, 2005).
There are several exceptions to this prohibition on drilling
an exempt well on land within 100 feet of a designated water
provider’s operating water distribution system.
First, A.R.S. § 45-454(D) provides that the Director shall
grant an exemption from A.R.S. § 45-454(C) if the landowner
demonstrates one of the following:
The
landowner submitted a written request for service to the
municipal provider that operates the distribution system and
the municipal provider did not provide written verification to
the landowner with thirty calendar days after receipt of the
request that water service is available to the landowner after
payment of any applicable fee to the municipal provider.
The total
capital cost and fees for connecting to the operating water
distribution system exceed the total capital cost and fees for
drilling and fully equipping the exempt well.
If the
applicant must obtain an easement across other land to connect
to the water distribution system of the municipal provider,
the applicant sent the owner of the land a request for the
easement by certified mail, return receipt requested, and
either the applicant did not receive a response to the request
within thirty calendar days of mailing the request or the
request was denied.
The
landowner does not qualify for an exemption pursuant to
paragraphs 1, 2, or 3 above and the landowner provides written
verification from the municipal provider that the landowner
shall not receive or request water service from the municipal
provider while the exempt well is operational. The exemption
for the well is revoked if the landowner or any subsequent
landowner receives water service from the municipal provider.
In determining whether to approve or reject an application to
drill a non-exempt well under A.R.S. § 45-599, the Director
shall not consider any impacts the proposed non-exempt well
may have on an exempt well drilled pursuant to this paragraph.
Second,
A.R.S. § 45-454(E) provides that A.R.S. § 45-454(C) does not
prohibit the drilling of a replacement exempt well for an
existing lawful exempt well if the replacement well does not
increase the total number of operable exempt wells on the well
owner’s land.
Finally,
A.R.S. § 45-454(F) provides that A.R.S. § 45-454(C) does not
apply to a remediation well drilled for the purpose of
remediating groundwater if one of the following applies:
The well
is for an approved Department of Environmental Quality or
United States Environmental Protection Agency remediation
program.
A
registered geologist certifies that the remediation well is
for the purpose of remediation.
Beginning
January 1, 2006, a person filing a notice of intention (NOI)
to drill an exempt well within an AMA (except a replacement
exempt well) must indicate on the NOI whether the land on
which the well is to be drilled is within 100 feet of a
designated water provider’s operating water distribution
system as shown on the provider’s most recent digitized
service area map on file with the Department. To make this
determination, the person filing the NOI must come to the
Department’s offices and review the most recent digitized
service area maps of all nearby designated water providers. If
the person indicates on the NOI that the land on which the
well is to be drilled is within 100 feet of a designated water
provider’s operating water distribution system as shown on the
provider’s most recent digitized service area map on file with
the Department, the Department will not grant the NOI unless
the person applies for and is granted an exemption pursuant to
A.R.S. § 45-454(D) or (F).
It is important to note that the prohibition on drilling an
exempt well on land within 100 feet of a designated water
provider’s operating water distribution system applies up to
the time well drilling commences. Therefore, even if the land
on which an exempt well is to be drilled is not within 100
feet of a designated water provider’s operating water
distribution system as shown on the provider’s most recent
digitized service area map on file with the Department at the
time the NOI is filed, if at any time between the time the NOI
is filed and the time well drilling commences, a designated
water provider files a digitized service area map showing that
the provider’s operating water distribution system is within
100 feet of the land, the well may not be drilled on or after
January 1, 2006 unless the person who filed the NOI applies
for and is granted an exemption pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-454(D)
or (F). For that reason, unless an exemption is granted at the
time drilling authority is issued, a person who receives a
drilling authority for an exempt well in an AMA (except a
replacement exempt well) should come to the Department’s
offices as close to the drilling date as possible and review
the most recent digitized service area maps of all nearby
designated water providers.
To request an exemption pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-454(D), a
person must file with the Department supplemental form “Exempt
Well Certification of Compliance with A.R.S. § 45-454(C) or
Request for Exemption Pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-454(D)” [form
A.R.S. § 45-454(C) & (D)].
To request an exemption pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-454(F), a
person must file with the Department supplemental form
“Remediation Well Certification of Compliance with A.R.S. §
45-454(C) or Request for Exemption Pursuant to A.R.S. §
45-454(F)” [form A.R.S. § 45-454(C) & (F)].
The digitized service area maps of designated water providers
will be available for review by the public at the Department’s
Phoenix office and in the outlying AMA offices beginning
December 30, 2005. For security purposes, these maps may not
be reproduced or electronically transferred. The Department
will update the service area map of a designated water
provider upon request by the provider, so it is important
to review the maps as close to the drilling date as possible.
A person who files an NOI to drill an exempt well is
responsible for ensuring that the well is not drilled in
violation of A.R.S. § 45-454(C). If the Department determines
that a person has drilled an exempt well in violation of A.R.S.
§ 45-454(C), the Department may commence an enforcement action
against the person in which it may seek an order requiring the
person to pay civil penalties and/or abandon the well.
For more information regarding A.R.S. § 45-454(C) and the
prohibition on drilling an exempt well within 100 feet of a
designated water provider’s operating water distribution
systems,
click here.
For
information regarding the 2005 Exempt Wells amendments, which
affect wells designed to pump 35 gpm or less that are located
within certain areas of the AMAs
click here
For
information regarding the Arizona Water Settlements Act, which
affect several areas of the Department including well drilling
(locating new wells in certain areas of the State),
click here
Information about new laws and policies that affect well
drilling and well driller licensing will be posted as they
become available.
Well Drilling in Arizona
Prior to drilling a new
well, or deepening or modifying an existing well, a person
must file a Notice of Intent to Drill with the Department.
Forms are available on this site and
must be submitted to the Department accompanied by the
appropriate filing
fee.
Authority to deepen an existing well or drill a new well will
be valid for one year; after that a new Notice of Intent must
be filed. A licensed well
drilling contractor must perform the work.
Definitions
of commonly used well drilling and groundwater management
terms are found on the Online Filing section of our website.
A typical drill rig like this may be seen when one is
traveling along Arizona’s roadways. To begin the
process of drilling a well in Arizona, select a licensed
well drilling contractor.
eNOI: Online Filing Center for Notices
of Intention to Drill Wells
A
Practical Guide to Drilling a Well in Arizona
ADWR regulates all groundwater wells in Arizona. Well
regulations are vital to the proper management and
protection of our groundwater. Well construction standards
help prevent contamination of your well and the
surrounding groundwater.
A domestic well equipped to pump 35 gallons per
minute or less may be constructed in many areas of
Arizona to serve water for any uses related to the
supply, service and activities of households and
private residences.
Well
Owner’s Guide
- This guide provides useful
information and advice to prospective domestic well owners
on their upcoming well construction projects.
If your well is designed to pump more than 35 gallons per
minute and is within the boundaries of an
Active Management Area (AMA), the request to drill is
reviewed and authorized through that AMA. Please
refer to
Water
Management - AMA/INA.
The terms cadastral location refers to a method of
locating land according to a rectangular coordinate
system. When reporting information, you may be asked
to provide a cadastral location. The following link
offers assistance on
How
to enter a Cadastral location. .
Statutes
and Rules
Governing Minimum Well Construction
Standards and the Licensing of Well Drillers. State
regulations and rules specific to well drilling and well
driller licensing.
Monitor wells may be constructed as components of
the remediation process to determine the
characteristics of the formation containing the
contaminants and/or depth to water; to allow access
for water sampling; and to monitor movement of
contaminant plumes.
Well Forms: Well Permitting/Notice of Intent (NOI)
Forms
***ATTENTION - FORM UPDATE - NEW REQUIRED INFORMATION***
NOI Well Drilling Forms have been Modified! Information on Boundaries of Groundwater Basins and Sub-basins is Now Available on the ADWR Website!
The ADWR form Notice of Intent to Drill, Deepen, Replace or Modify a Well (DWR 55-40) has been modified to require applicants to indicate whether the water to be pumped from the proposed well will be used in the same groundwater basin where the well is to be located . Please download and use the new forms. Effective immediately, only the new forms will be accepted.
To assist NOI applicants in locating groundwater basin and sub-basin boundaries and for general knowledge, we are adding the Department’s Basin and Sub-Basin Designations—June 1984 to our website. This document, describing in narrative and map form the official boundaries of each of the 46 groundwater basins and 27 sub-basins of the state not included in the five initial Active Management Area basins, was published as part of the Findings and Order of the Director designating the basins and sub-basins pursuant to ARS Section 45-404 on June 21, 1984
click here to download
official basin/subbasin boundaries outside AMAs. It may be helpful to first download a statewide map showing all of the basins and sub-basins of the state to better estimate what basin and sub-basin in which the proposed well may be located, before searching the official 1984 boundaries document
click here to download
statewide basin/sub-basin map, including the five AMAs. You can also download maps of each AMA
click here for Phoenix AMA map,
click here for Pinal AMA map,
click here for Prescott AMA map,
click here forSanta Cruz AMA map, click here for Tucson AMA map.
***ATTENTION WELL DRILLERS - GPS REQUIREMENTS***
ALSO NEW: Effective immediately, the only acceptable method used to determine Latitude and Longitude is GPS. The USGS Quad Map and conventional survey methods are no longer allowable options. The Well Driller Report and Log (form DWR 55-55), and the Well Abandonment Completion Report (form DWR 55-58) have been updated to reflect these changes and may be downloaded now.
55-0001 Application for a Permit
to Drill or Operate a Non-Exempt Well Within an AMA
Pursuant to A.R.S. 45-599FormInstructions
PLEASE NOTE: When clicking the above
"Form" link, two separate windows will open pop-ups.
After both finish opening, form 55-0001 should appear to
be "on top" of all the other windows. The form
55-90 should be "below" that window. When closing
the first window, the second window should show up as
long as no other windows were selected.
Your web browser
MUST allow pop-ups from this site for this to
work. If you have a message in a yellow bar at the
top of your web browser "Pop-up blocked. To see this
pop-up or additional options click here..." then click
to "Always Allow Pop-ups from This Site..." to see both
files.
55-40 Notice of Intent to Drill, Deepen, Replace or Modify a Well FormInstructions
55-41 Notice of Intention to Deepen, Replace or Modify a Non-Exempt Well FormInstructions
PLEASE NOTE: When clicking the above
"Form" link, two separate windows will open as
pop-ups. After
both finish opening, form 55-41 should appear to be "on
top" of all the other windows. The form 55-90
should be "below" that window. When closing the
first window, the second window should show up as long
as no other windows were selected.
Your web browser
MUST allow pop-ups from this site for this to
work. If you have a message in a yellow bar at the
top of your web browser "Pop-up blocked. To see this
pop-up or additional options click here..." then click
to "Always Allow Pop-ups from This Site..." to see both
files.
55-41a Notice of Intention to Drill a Non-Exempt Well
pursuant to a Non-General Industrial Use Permit
FormInstructions
55-43B
Notice of Intent to Drill and Abandon an Exploration/Specialty
Well FormInstructions
55-44A
Notice of Intent to Drill, Deepen, or Modify a Monitor/Piezometer/Environmental
Well FormInstructions
An abandoned well is discovered during the
development process. When abandoning a well,
consideration of future land use is an important
factor when deciding how deep to grade the soil
before starting the 20’ surface seal.
Well Drillers/Licensing
***ATTENTION WELL DRILLERS * GPS REQUIREMENTS***
Effective immediately, the only acceptable method used to determine Latitude and Longitude is GPS. The USGS Quad Map and conventional survey methods are no longer allowable options. The Well Driller Report and Log (form DWR 55-55), and the Well Abandonment Completion Report (form DWR 55-58) have been updated to reflect these changes and may be downloaded now.
Drillers List
Complete drillers list can be searched by Company Name,
Zip Code or Qualifying Party Name.
AROC
To check a contractor’s license issued through the Arizona
Registrar of Contractors,
eNOI
Driller’s Guide
This document outlines the detailed steps necessary to
submit an NOI application and print out the required drill
cards/packets over the Internet.
Well Driller e-file (eNOI)
Online filing of Notices of Intention to Drill wells.
This site may be used by licensed well drillers to obtain
online authorizations to drill certain types of wells.
Well Driller Licensing Exams are administered at ADWR six
times per year, approximately the second Friday of every
even numbered month (February, April, June, August,
October and December). Please contact us at (602)
771-8500 if you are considering becoming a licensed Well
Driller in Arizona.
An older version of a common drilling rig. Once a
familiar sight, this model is today regarded as a
novelty or antique.
water production and monitoring/piezometer well
construction; and
well abandonment and non-water related well
construction.
Caution:
these figures represent only the number of notices
received by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, and
should not be taken as representative of the total number
of wells drilled and/or abandoned between 1980 and 2003.
2006 Notice of Intent Application Review and Well File Maintenance Report
2007 Notice of Intent Application Review and Well File Maintenance Report
Statewide well application data by County, and data related specifically to wells located within each of the Active Management Areas and Irrigation Non-Expansion Areas for the calendar year as indicated. These reports include:
the number of applications and updates to the well records that were processed during the year; and
the annual construction estimates.
Contacts: Well Permitting/Notice of Intent (NOI)
ADWR Notice of Intent Unit
Lori Cason
3550 N. Central Avenue
Supervisor
Phoenix AZ 85012
(602) 771-8500
Michael Ball
Senior Compliance Officer
Well Spacing and Impact Rules and
Replacement Wells in the Same Location
On June
6, 2006 the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (“GRRC”)
approved the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”)
proposed rules establishing well spacing criteria for certain
new wells and well uses in the state, and a rule defining what
constitutes a replacement well in approximately the same
location (collectively referred to as “well spacing rules”).
The well spacing rules, numbered R12-15-1301 through
R12-15-1308, replace the temporary well spacing rules adopted
by the director of ADWR (“Director”) on March 11, 1983.
The well spacing rules became effective on August 7, 2006.
Click here to view a copy of the approved well
spacing rules.
In
developing the well spacing rules, ADWR held a number of
stakeholders meetings to solicit input from persons
potentially affected by the rules. Persons attending the
stakeholders group meetings included representatives of water
providers, agricultural water users, industrial water users
and landowners.
During
the stakeholders’ group meetings, ADWR agreed to establish a
process for giving public notice of all applications for well
permits filed under A.R.S. § 45-599. ADWR is not required by
statute or rule to give public notice of such applications,
therefore this notice is for informational purposes only and
there is not an objection period offered under this noticing.
This information will be updated weekly.
Wells Public
The
following is a brief description of the well spacing rules:
Rules R12-15-1302 through R12-15-1307 contains
well spacing criteria that must be complied with to construct
or use certain wells in the state. The rules are designed to
prevent unreasonably increasing damage to surrounding land or
other water users from the concentration of wells. The well
spacing criteria address three types of unreasonably
increasing damage: (1) additional drawdown of water levels at
neighboring wells of record; (2) additional regional land
subsidence; and (3) migration of contaminated groundwater to a
well of record. The following applications and well uses are
subject to the well spacing criteria:
1. An application filed under A.R.S. § 45-599 for a permit to
construct a new well or a replacement well in a new location
in an active management area (“AMA”).
2. An application filed under A.R.S. § 45-834.01 for a
recovery well permit for a new well as defined in A.R.S. §
45-591 (generally, a non-exempt well drilled on or after June
12, 1980) or, except as provided in A.R.S. § 45-834.01(B)(2)
or (3), for an existing well as defined in A.R.S. § 45-591
(generally, a non-exempt well drilled before June 12, 1980).
3. An application filed under A.R.S. § 45-559 for approval to
use a well drilled after September 21, 1991 to withdraw
groundwater outside of an AMA for transportation to an AMA.
4. The use of a well in the Little Colorado river plateau
groundwater basin to withdraw groundwater for transportation
away from the basin pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-544(B)(1), unless
the well was constructed on or before September 21, 1991 or
the well is a replacement well in approximately the same
location.
5. An application for a water exchange permit under A.R.S. §
45-1041 filed by a person other than a city, town, private
water company or irrigation district if there will be any new
or increased pumping by the applicant from a well in an AMA.
6. The use of a well in an AMA by a participant in a water
exchange for which a notice of water exchange is filed under
A.R.S. § 45-1051 if there will be any new or increased pumping
by the participant from the well. This does not apply to
cities, towns, private water companies or irrigation
districts.
Rule R12-15-1308 contains criteria that must be
met for a proposed well to qualify as a replacement well in
approximately the same location. A person proposing to
construct a replacement well that will be located in
approximately the same location as the well it is replacing
must file a notice of intention (“NOI”) to drill the well, but
is not required to obtain a well permit or comply with the
well spacing criteria in R12-15-1302 through R12-15-1307.
Rule R12-15-1301 contains definitions of terms
used in rules R12-15-1302 through R12-15-1308.
It is important to note that the well spacing rules do not
apply to the construction or use of the following types of
wells: (1) wells drilled outside of AMAs, except certain
recovery wells and certain wells used to withdraw groundwater
for transportation away from a groundwater basin; (2) exempt
wells within AMAs (generally, non-irrigation wells with a
maximum pumping capacity of 35 gallons per minute or less; (3)
wells within AMAs drilled pursuant to groundwater withdrawal
permits other than general industrial use permits (e.g.,
mineral extraction and metallurgical processing permits,
drainage permits, dewatering permits and poor quality
groundwater permits); and (4) wells that withdraw only surface
water.
Questions regarding the rules should be directed to Scott
Miller, Arizona Department of Water Resources, 3550 N. Central
Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85012. Mr. Miller’s phone number is
602-771-8585.
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Arizona Department of
Water Resources
3550 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85012