Title 45 — Waters

Withdrawals and transportation of groundwater by an irrigation district pursuant to this article are subject to: 1. The provisions of articles 8 and 8.1 of this chapter relating to transportation of groundwater. 2. Conservation requirements developed by the director pursuant to a…

A. This article shall not be construed to enlarge the authority of an irrigation district to withdraw and distribute groundwater for municipal or industrial purposes. B. An industrial user may not obtain groundwater delivery service from an irrigation district in excess of the am…

A. Each city, town, private water company and irrigation district in an active management area shall maintain a current map clearly delineating its service area and distribution system in the director's office and shall furnish such other related data as the director may require.…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "General industrial use" means a non-irrigation use of groundwater except those subject to permits issued pursuant to sections 45-513 and 45-514 and those for which a certificate of assured water supply is required pursua…

Except as provided in section 45-452, subsection H, section 45-513, subsection B and articles 5 and 6 of this chapter, a person may not withdraw groundwater from a nonexempt well in an active management area unless the person obtains a groundwater withdrawal permit from the direc…

A. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, a person who is engaged in or proposes to engage in the extraction and processing of minerals shall be issued a dewatering permit for the beneficial use of the land for mineral extraction, for metallurgical processing and for…

A. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, a person who is engaged in or proposes to engage in the extraction and processing of minerals shall be issued a permit to withdraw groundwater in the required amount, if all of the following apply: 1. The amount of groundwate…

A. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, the director shall issue a permit to withdraw groundwater from a point outside of the exterior boundaries of the service area of a city, town or private water company for a general industrial use outside of the exterior bound…

A. The director may issue a permit to a non-irrigation user to withdraw poor quality groundwater if he determines that the groundwater to be withdrawn because of its quality has no other beneficial use at the present time and that the withdrawal of such groundwater is consistent …

A. The director shall, upon an adequate showing that an emergency exists, issue a temporary permit to a person engaged in the generation of electrical energy to withdraw groundwater in excess of the amount of groundwater the person is legally entitled to withdraw under a grandfat…

A. The director may issue a temporary permit to a person to withdraw groundwater for dewatering purposes if the director determines that: 1. Dewatering is necessary for the construction or the structural integrity of improvements on the land from which the groundwater is proposed…

A. A person may apply for and the director may issue a drainage water withdrawal permit if the director determines that drainage of irrigated lands is necessary for a reasonable economic return from agricultural production in respect to those lands and the withdrawal of such grou…

A. The director shall issue a permit to withdraw not more than three acre-feet of groundwater per year for the purpose of obtaining groundwater samples to test groundwater quality, if the testing is necessary to comply with applicable environmental controls. A hydrologic testing …

A. A person who withdraws groundwater under a permit issued pursuant to this article may change his point or points of withdrawal only pursuant to sections 45-597 and 45-598 and may change his location of use only with the approval of the director and by applying for a modificati…

Application for a permit to withdraw groundwater pursuant to this article shall be made on a form provided by the director which shall include the following information: 1. The name and mailing address of the applicant. 2. The name of the active management area and sub-basin, if …

Upon receipt of an application, the director shall endorse on the application the date of its receipt and keep a record of the application. If the director determines the application is incorrect or incomplete, the director may request additional information from the applicant. T…

A. Except as provided in section 45-518, subsection D and section 45-519.01, subsection F, when the permit application is determined complete and correct, the director shall, within fifteen days of such determination, give notice of the application once each week for two consecut…

A. The approval or rejection of an application for a permit shall be endorsed on the application and dated. If the permit is denied, the director shall notify the applicant in writing specifically stating the reasons for denial. B. A permit issued by the director shall contain th…

A. The director shall establish and maintain a registry of permits for each active management area. The registry shall include a copy of each permit in the active management area and such other pertinent information as the director determines is necessary. B. A person to whom a p…

A person whose application is denied or a person who contested a permit by filing a proper objection pursuant to section 45-523 may seek judicial review of the decision in the superior court.

A permittee may seek modification of an unexpired groundwater withdrawal permit and renewal of a permit within six months prior to the date of the expiration of the permit. All permit modifications or renewal applications shall be treated in the same manner as the initial permit …

A. After an administrative hearing in the active management area in which the use is located, the director may permanently, or temporarily, in whole or in part, revoke a groundwater withdrawal permit for any of the following reasons: 1. For a material false statement in an applic…

A. Groundwater which is withdrawn pursuant to a grandfathered right or a groundwater withdrawal permit or from an exempt well may be transported without payment of damages within a sub-basin of an active management area, subject to the limitations on location of use in sections 4…

A. Groundwater which is withdrawn pursuant to an irrigation grandfathered right may be transported between sub-basins of an active management area or away from an active management area, subject to the limitations on location of use in section 45-472. B. Groundwater which is with…

A. Groundwater may be transported between sub-basins of an active management area or away from an active management area, subject to payment of damages, if the groundwater is withdrawn: 1. Pursuant to a type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered right, except that groundwater withdrawn …

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 45-547 and article 8.1 of this chapter, in areas outside of active management areas: 1. Groundwater may be transported: (a) Within a subbasin of a groundwater basin or within a groundwater basin, if there are no subbasins, …

A. In active management areas and in areas outside of active management areas, in any action to recover damages, neither injury to nor impairment of the water supply of any landowner shall be presumed from the fact of transportation. B. In determining whether there has been injur…

A person shall maintain property that is owned or controlled by the person and from which groundwater is or will be transported pursuant to this article free of noxious weeds as defined in section 3-201, Russian thistles (salsola kali) and blowing dust that creates a threat to he…

A. Groundwater may be withdrawn in the Yuma basin for direct or indirect transportation outside of the basin, including transportation to an initial active management area, only if a permit is obtained from the director pursuant to this section. B. A person who has the legal righ…

A. This article applies only to withdrawals of groundwater for transportation to active management areas. B. Unless specifically authorized by this chapter, groundwater that is withdrawn in a groundwater basin or sub-basin outside of an initial active management area may not be t…

A. A city that purchased land before January 1, 1988 in the McMullen valley groundwater basin or a person who purchased land before January 1, 1988 that was in that basin and that was in the same county as an adjacent initial active management area, either directly or in exchange…

A. Groundwater may be withdrawn from land owned by this state or by a political subdivision of this state in the Butler Valley groundwater basin for transportation to an initial active management area. B. Title to land in the Butler Valley groundwater basin that is owned by this …

A. A groundwater replenishment district established under title 48, chapter 27 may lease from an irrigation district located entirely within the Harquahala irrigation non-expansion area the use of one or more of the wells in the irrigation district to withdraw the groundwater tha…

A. A city or town that owns land consisting of historically irrigated acres in the Big Chino sub-basin of the Verde River groundwater basin, as designated by order of the director dated June 21, 1984, or a city or town with the consent of the landowner, may withdraw from the land…

1. The owner of the well or the owner's predecessor in interest withdrew groundwater from the upper San Pedro groundwater basin for transportation to the Douglas active management area on or before December 1, 2022. 2. The groundwater is transported to the Douglas active manageme…

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, a person who directly or indirectly transports groundwater, withdrawn in a groundwater basin or sub-basin as provided by this article or in the Pinal active management area, away from the county in which it was withdrawn to a…

A. Except as provided in subsections B and C of this section: 1. The director shall not consider groundwater that is being or will be withdrawn in a groundwater basin or sub-basin pursuant to this article or the Pinal active management area and transported to an initial active ma…

A person shall maintain property owned by the person and from which groundwater is or will be transported pursuant to this article free of noxious weeds as defined in section 3-201, Russian thistles (salsola kali) and blowing dust that creates a threat to health or safety.

Except as provided in section 45-554, subsection A and except for groundwater withdrawn and transported pursuant to section 45-555, subsections E and F, a person may not use a well constructed after September 21, 1991 for the purpose of withdrawing groundwater for transportation …

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated materials to be capable of storing water and transmitting water in usable quantities to a well. 2. "Augmentation" means to supplement the water suppl…

A. The management goal of the Tucson, Phoenix and Prescott active management areas is safe-yield by January 1, 2025, or such earlier date as may be determined by the director. B. The management goal of the Pinal active management area is to allow development of non-irrigation use…

A. The director shall develop a management plan for each initial active management area for each of five management periods pursuant to the guidelines prescribed in sections 45-564 through 45-568 and shall adopt the plans only after public hearings held pursuant to sections 45-57…

At least once every three years the director shall issue a report containing: 1. The per capita water use in the service area of each municipal provider in each active management area. 2. A brief description and evaluation of the efforts to promote water conservation by each muni…

A. A person who is entitled to use groundwater pursuant to an irrigation grandfathered right is exempt from any irrigation water duties or intermediate water duties established for the farm to which the right is appurtenant under sections 45-564, 45-565, 45-566, 45-567 and 45-568…

A. Notwithstanding any other law, a municipality that is located in an initial active management area may not adopt or enforce any requirement that establishes, directly or indirectly, any of the following: 1. Minimum turf requirements, except for functional turf requirements tha…

A. For the first management period, 1980 to 1990, the director shall promulgate management plans for the Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott active management areas not later than January 1, 1983 and for the Pinal active management area not later than July 1, 1985. In each plan, the dir…

A. For the second management period, 1990 to 2000, the director shall promulgate a management plan for each initial active management area not later than January 1, 1988. In each plan the director shall: 1. Except as provided in section 45-411.01, subsection A, establish a new ir…

A. In addition to the provisions of the management plan for the second management period prescribed by section 45-565, subsection A, not later than January 1, 1995 the director shall include in the management plan a non-per capita conservation program for municipal providers that…

A. For the third management period, 2000 to 2010, the director shall promulgate a management plan for each initial active management area not later than January 1, 1998. The director: 1. Except as provided in section 45-411.01, subsection A and section 45-563.02, subsection B, sh…

A. In addition to the provisions of the management plan for the third management period prescribed by section 45-566, subsection A, paragraph 2, no later than January 1, 2008, the director shall modify the management plan to replace the non-per capita conservation program for mun…