7913

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7913
• Author: Freshwater Society.
• Title: Water Management in Transition, 1985.
• USFW Year: 1985.
• USFW - Doc Type: Navarre, MN.
• Copyright Material: YES

Tucson reduced its water
consumption rate by nearly
20 percent in five years.

Provisions of the Groundwater Code

The Code has two primary goals. The first is to control the severe overdraft of
groundwater currently taking place in many parts of Arizona. The second is to
provide a means of allocation for the state's limited groundwater resources to
most effectively meet the changing needs of the state.

To carry out the goals of the Code, the legislature established a new state agency,
the Department of Water Resources (DWR), which administers all state water
laws except those directly regulating water quality. The director of water
resources, appointed by the governor, is responsible for all decisions under the
Code.

Because groundwater problems are not uniform statewide, the Code established
geographical areas known as Active Management Areas (AMAs), within which
intensive management of groundwater is required. This management area
concept is ideal for a state like Arizona, where population and water supplies
differ greatly from one area to another.

To reduce groundwater withdrawals, the Code mandates that the director of
water resources develop a series of five management plans for eachAMA. The
statutory management goal for the three urban AMAs - Phoenix, Tucson and
Prescott - is safe-yield. This means that, by the year 2025, groundwater
withdrawals may not exceed recharge, In the Pinal AMA, where a primarily
agricultural economy exists, the goal is to extend the life of that economy as
long as feasible, consistent with the need to preserve future water supplies for
non-agricultural uses.

In each management plan, the director must establish conservation requirements
for all groundwater users to achieve reductions in withdrawals. For farmers, the
director will establish a water duty, which is the per-acre amount of water it is
reasonable to apply in order to grow the crops historically grown.

In calculating the water duties for the first management period, the director
must assume that each farmer will implement conservation methods which
would be reasonable for the farm unit, such as lined ditches, pump-back systems,
land leveling and efficient application practices. In subsequent management
periods, the director must assume farmers will implement more sophisticated
conservation methods such as converting from flood to drip irrigation.

For municipal users, the director will require reasonable reductions in per capita
consumption and other appropriate conservation measures such as limitations
on ornamental lakes and landscaping. For industrial users, the director will
require use of the latest commercially available conservation technology.

In each successive management plan, the conservation requirements will
become more stringent. Additionally, after the first management period (1983-
1990), the director may develop programs to augment the water supply through
watershed management, artificial recharge and other feasible means.

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