It’s necessary to regulate groundwater in Arizona’s rural southeast, allowing the designation of a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use, the Arizona Department of Water Resources announced Friday.
The department’s Director, Tom Buschatzke, said data analysis of hydrologic conditions in the state’s Willcox basin shows that the conditions have been met “to take necessary steps to defend our groundwater supplies for future generations.”
Under state law, Buschatzke is empowered as director to designate an “active management area” for the Willcox Groundwater Basin in Arizona’s Cochise and Graham counties.
“As my staff has made clear in public hearings held in Willcox and in response to comments on our presentations from members of the public, the hydrologic conditions in the basin meet the statutory requirements,” he said in a statement.
According to a statement by the water agency, the director made the designation on Thursday, following public hearings on the matter. During that period, the basin was closed to new agriculture use while the department decided whether to create the management area southeast of Tucson, which would allow it to set goals for the well-being of the basin and its aquifers.
Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state water resources agency had been under pressure by local residents to deal with the groundwater depletion.
Hobbs on Friday praised the designation.
“I’ve heard from families, farmers, and businesses who have experienced the devastating impacts of unchecked pumping by unaccountable, big corporations,” said. “Their wells are running dry, their homes are damaged by fissures in the earth, and their farms are barely able to get by.”
High rates of pumping can dry up wells and cause the ground to collapse, damaging roads and other property. According to a water resources department report, 26 wells in the basin that are regularly measured fell 10 feet (3 meters) to nearly 142 feet (43 meters) between the years 2000 and 2020.
Arizona farm interests have historically opposed groundwater pumping regulations, saying such a structure is too inflexible.
The Willcox Groundwater Basin management area is the first formed by executive action since approval of Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act in 1980. Several other such areas in Arizona were created by similar laws. The urban areas of Phoenix and Tucson have long been under groundwater management.
Over $3.5 million heading to AZ to rebuild roads and bridges after flooding and wildfires
Over $3.5 million is headed to Arizona to help repair roads and bridges that were damaged in wildfires and flash floods in 2021 and 2022. The...
New government program will send doctors directly to crash sites in Tucson
Arizona had nearly 300 pedestrians die in crashes in 2022. Arizona was the second-most fatal state for pedestrians in 2022. Now, nearly $7.5 million...
USDA gives $250k to help historically underserved Arizona farms and ranches
Arizona farms and ranches run by people who have historically been underserved are at the heart of new grants from the US Department of Agriculture....
Tempe streetcar expansion will give ASU students access to more of the city
Valley Metro secured a nearly $16 million federal grant for a Tempe streetcar expansion that will bring it into Mesa and add over four miles of...