Bill would give Arizona rural communities a say in how groundwater is allocated – Cronkite News

Prescott Mayor Phil Goode addresses the media about water resources at a state Capitol press conference on Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Olivia Williams/Cronkite News)

Gov. Katie Hobbs along with a group of bipartisan state and rural leaders announced legislation Thursday that gives rural communities a say in managing local groundwater.

The Rural Groundwater Management Act of 2025 would allow rural Arizonans to create water management programs that would have decision-making authority over conservation programs. Those programs are meant to reduce groundwater use and improve aquifer conditions, according to a fact sheet provided by the Governor’s Office.

Senate Bill 1425 also would create five-person councils in each water management program. Council members would be selected by the Arizona Senate president, House speaker and minority leaders in both chambers.

Hobbs said the legislation is meant to protect rural communities’ groundwater from being over-pumped by out-of-state corporations that previously have used water to export crops back to their company’s primary operational hub.

The act also provides funding for water conservation, with dedicated money to support voluntary water conservation, aquifer recharge and water reuse programs in rural areas.

The legislation would establish immediate protections for areas with depleted water supplies, including the Gila Bend Basin, Hualapai Valley Basin, Ranegras Plain Basin and San Simon Valley Sub-basin.

Hobbs has made water conservation a cornerstone of her administration. In December, she enacted the Willcox Groundwater Basin as an Active Management Area. On Tuesday, she announced a $60.3 million water protection investment program that would pay for conservation, advanced technology and infrastructure improvement.

At the press conference, the governor warned that if the legislation does not pass, she will take action by designating more areas as Active Management Areas.

“Resolving this through legislation remains my priority but I’ve been clear about my resolve to protect our water future, and the conversations I’ve had with the rural Arizonans across the state have only reaffirmed my commitment to take action again if the Legislature fails to do so,” Hobbs said.

Prescott Mayor Phil Goode said he supports the legislation, emphasizing that water conservation and ensuring Arizonans all over the state have access to water for future generations is a nonpartisan issue.

“Last time I checked there wasn’t Democratic water and Republican water, there is water for our state,” Goode said.

Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, a main sponsor of the bill, said passage would end a long line of inaction since establishment of the 1980 Groundwater Management Act.

“For years, Arizonans have called for action on updating our groundwater protections,” Sundareshan said. “Time and again their cries for help have been caught in the middle of political negotiations, and the state has ultimately been unresponsive when it comes to protecting our state’s finite water resources. I’m proud to say those days are over.”

Travis Lingenfelter, a member of the Mojave County Board of Supervisors, said the proposed change in policy to stop out-of-state corporations from using rural Arizona’s finite groundwater is dire in his community.

“According to the Arizona Department of Water resources, over 70% of the Hualapai Basin’s annual groundwater pumping deficit is directly attributable to the international and out-of-state interests,” Lingenfelter said.

Passing this legislation will “ensure that future generations can be confident that Arizona will continue to be a place where any person can raise a family, start a business, or put down roots free from worrying that water at any point will be sucked out from under them,” Sundareshan said.