Title 45 — Waters

In this title, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Appropriator" means the person or persons initiating or perfecting the right to use appropriable water based on state law, or the person's successor or successors in interest. 2. "Department" means the department of water …

A. There is established a department of water resources. B. There shall be a director of the department who shall be responsible for the direction, operation and control of the department. C. The director shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to section 38-211 and shall ser…

A. The department, through the director, succeeds to the authority, powers, duties and responsibilities of the Arizona water commission and the state water engineer relating to surface water, groundwater and dams and reservoirs. B. The director has general control and supervision…

A. The director may establish and organize divisions within the department and otherwise organize the department in the manner the director deems necessary to make the operation of the department efficient and effective. B. The director may appoint a deputy director to each divis…

A. The director may: 1. Formulate plans and develop programs for the practical and economical development, management, conservation and use of surface water, groundwater and the watersheds in this state, including the management of water quantity and quality. 2. Investigate works…

An agreement entered into between the director and the United States or a state or government involving a sovereign right or claim of this state is not effective unless approved by the legislature by concurrent resolution.

A. The director is authorized, for and on behalf of the state of Arizona, to consult, advise and cooperate with the secretary of the interior of the United States, as follows: 1. In the exercise of any authority conferred upon the secretary of the interior under the provisions of…

Before the beginning of each accounting year on the Colorado river, the director may consider a request by the secretary of the interior or the secretary's designated representative to waive rights held by this state to return flow credits for Colorado river water to the extent t…

A. In areas outside of active management areas established pursuant to chapter 2, article 2 of this title, the developer of a proposed subdivision including dry lot subdivisions, regardless of subdivided lot size, prior to recordation of the plat, shall submit plans for the water…

B. Notice pursuant to subsection A of this section shall state that written objections to the application may be filed with the director by residents and landowners within the groundwater basin within fifteen days after the last publication of notice. An objection shall state the…

1. The subdivider has made substantial capital investment toward the construction of the proposed subdivision before the date the water adequacy requirement first became effective. For the purposes of this paragraph, substantial capital investment may include construction costs, …

1. The subdivider has demonstrated financial capability pursuant to section 45-108, subsection I, but the water supply project will not be capable of serving the subdivision with sufficient water to meet its demands in a timely manner because of one of the following: (a) The phys…

For the purposes of section 45-108, if the upper San Pedro water district is established under title 48, chapter 37 for proposed uses in the district, "adequate water supply" means a water supply that complies with all of the following: 1. Sufficient groundwater, surface water or…

The director shall post and maintain on the department’s website definitions of the following subdivision water supply terms that apply to areas outside of active management areas: 1. Adequate water supply. 2. Inadequate water supply. 3. Property served by a water provider curren…

A. On or after January 1, 2009, at the request of any person, all cities, towns and private water companies outside of an active management area as established pursuant to chapter 2, article 2 of this title shall provide a written statement describing the water supply status of r…

A. The director shall divide the state into water districts with reference to drainage watersheds in order to secure the best protection to claimants to water and the most economical supervision by the state. Districts shall not be created until necessary but shall be created as …

A. The superintendent of each water district shall: 1. Divide the water of the sources of supply of his district among the several ditches and reservoirs taking water therefrom, and among the laterals and ditches according to the rights of each. 2. Shut and fasten the head gates …

On or before August 15 each year the director shall render to the governor and the legislature a full and true report of the department's operations under this title, including operations relating to dam safety, levee repairs and other flood control activities. The report shall i…

A. A person is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor who: 1. Knowingly and without authority opens, closes, changes or interferes with a lawfully established headgate, measuring device or water box. 2. Knowingly uses water or conducts into or through such person's ditch water lawfully …

A. Except as otherwise prescribed, the director shall establish by rule and shall collect reasonable fees to cover the costs of administrative services and expenses. B. Except as otherwise prescribed, the director may establish by rule and collect fees for applications, certifica…

A. Administrative proceedings under this title are subject to title 41, chapter 6, article 10, except for administrative proceedings under section 45-476.01. If an administrative hearing is held before the director's decision, the administrative proceeding is a contested case und…

A. The department of water resources production and copying fund is established consisting of monies paid to the department for publications produced by the department and for copies of department records. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuou…

A. The department of water resources publication and mailing fund is established consisting of monies paid to the department for the publication and mailing of legal notices required by law. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriate…

A. The water resources fund is established to be maintained in perpetuity consisting of: 1. Except as provided in section 45-113, subsection F, monies received pursuant to sections 45-113, 45-115, 45-116, 45-183, 45-273, 45-292, 45-411.01, 45-467, 45-476.01, 45-595, 45-612, 45-70…

(Rpld. 4/1/27) B. System conservation created through the use of the fund shall provide for Colorado River water to be conserved in Lake Mead through a verified reduction in existing consumptive use in order to decrease the likelihood of lake elevations dropping to levels that co…

A. The Colorado River litigation fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. B.…

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Body of water" means a body of water in an active management area established under chapter 2 of this title, including a lake, pond, lagoon or swimming pool, that has a surface area greater than twelve thousand three hun…

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, in an active management area established under chapter 2 of this title, a person shall not use any water for the purpose of filling or refilling all or a portion of a body of water. B. This section does not apply to a body of…

A. A person otherwise subject to the prohibitions of section 45-132 may use groundwater withdrawn pursuant to a type 1 or type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered right or water other than groundwater to fill or refill all or a portion of a body of water until sufficient effluent is a…

A. The director may issue a temporary, emergency permit authorizing the use of surface water or groundwater in a body of water that is exempt under section 45-132, subsection B, paragraph 4 and that is filled or refilled primarily with effluent if the director determines that: 1.…

A. The director or the director's authorized representative may enter at reasonable times on private or public property where a body of water is located, and the owner, manager or occupant of the property shall permit such entry, to: 1. Inspect the body of water. 2. Ascertain com…

A. Except as provided by subsection B of this section, if the director has reason to believe that a person is violating or has violated any provision of this article, a permit or order issued pursuant to this article or a rule adopted to carry out the purposes of this article, th…

A. A person who is determined pursuant to section 45-136 to be in violation of any provision of this article, a permit or order issued pursuant to this article or a rule adopted to carry out the purpose of this article may be assessed a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding: 1…

A person who claims in a hearing held pursuant to section 45-136 or in a civil action that he is not violating or has not violated any provision of this article, a permit or order issued pursuant to this article or a rule adopted to carry out the purpose of this article on the gr…

A. Unless otherwise specified, a person who knowingly violates or refuses to comply with any provision of this article, a permit or order issued pursuant to this article or a rule adopted to carry out the purpose of this article is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. A person who, a…

A person who, after December 31, 1986, begins the physical on-site construction of a body of water located in a subdivision as defined in section 32-2101 and which will be filled or refilled with a source of water identified in section 45-132, subsection B, paragraph 4, shall: 1.…

Nothing in this article shall be construed to determine the legal status of effluent.

A. The waters of all sources, flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels, or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, flood, waste or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface, belong to the public and are subjec…

A. Any person, the state of Arizona or a political subdivision thereof may appropriate unappropriated water for domestic, municipal, irrigation, stock watering, water power, recreation, wildlife, including fish, nonrecoverable water storage pursuant to section 45-833.01 or mining…

A. Any person, including the United States, the state or a municipality, intending to acquire the right to the beneficial use of water, shall make an application to the director of water resources for a permit to make an appropriation of the water. The application shall state: 1.…

A. In addition to the information prescribed in section 45-152, any person, including the United States, this state or a municipality, who files an instream flow application after the effective date of this section shall comply with the following: 1. The applicant shall submit at…

A. The director shall approve applications made in proper form for the appropriation of water for a beneficial use, but when the application or the proposed use conflicts with vested rights, is a menace to public safety, or is against the interests and welfare of the public, the …

Upon receipt of the application, the director shall endorse on the application the date of its receipt and keep a record of applications received. If the application is defective it shall be returned for correction or completion, with the date of and reasons for returning it endo…

A. Before approving or rejecting the application, the director may require additional information to enable it to protect properly the public interest and may, on applications proposing to divert more than ten cubic feet of water per second, require a statement of the following f…

A. An application for appropriation of waters of a stream within the state for generating electric energy in excess of twenty-five thousand horsepower, or an application for a permit to build a dam for generating hydroelectric energy on a stream within the state in excess of twen…

A. As between two or more pending conflicting applications for the use of water from a given water supply, when the capacity of the supply is not sufficient for all applications, preference shall be given by the director according to the relative values to the public of the propo…

The approval or rejection of an application for the appropriation of water shall be endorsed on the application, a record of the action kept by the director, and the application returned immediately to the applicant. If approved, the applicant may construct the necessary works, t…

An applicant accepts a permit to appropriate water upon the condition that no value in excess of the amount paid to the state shall be claimed for the permit or for the rights so acquired when a public authority is regulating or fixing the rate or charges of the services to be re…

Actual construction, except under applications by a city or town for municipal uses, shall begin within two years after approval of the application, and shall be prosecuted with reasonable diligence and completed within a reasonable time which shall be fixed in the permit at not …

A. Applications for reservoir permits shall be governed by this article, except that the lands proposed to be irrigated from the works need not be enumerated in the primary permit. B. The person proposing to develop the supply of water or to complete the necessary works shall fil…