the Governor’s Water Policy Council to update the Arizona Groundwater Management Act. She also put a hard stop for any development of subdivisions reliant on groundwater. (She has since revised this, stating in January 2024 that communities will be allowed to use some groundwater with approval from the state water department.) True to her word about groundwater transparency, she’s clear that her attention isn’t limited to new housing developments and that her agenda includes creating a new framework to allow for groundwater management in rural parts of the states. Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona governor who was responsible for Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act, has made his stance public and clear: Rural areas need local groundwater control. In November 2023, the Water Policy Council—a council that was set up by Hobbs when she started her term— submitted the “Rural Groundwater Management Area” Framework Proposal. This proposal states that the director of Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) has the option to designate a “Rural Groundwater Management Area,” which will include a hearing process. The expanded use of groundwater is paused during this process. Each of the management areas will be given a goal that is tied to the needs and conditions of the local area. This goal is designated by the Council, which is made up of five-to-nine individuals from the area and comprises those who represent water use sectors within the area like agricultural, industrial and municipal users. The designation of the management area is to be reviewed every 10 years. The Governor’s proposal has yet to be heard in a legislative committee. Instead, a counterproposal was drafted by Arizona State Sen. Sine Kerr, and was passed in a Senate committee on a party-line vote in early February 2024. “At this point of the Legislative session, it is very unclear as to what policy changes impacting rural groundwater use are going happen. There are two strong proposals, with significant support and opposition for each,” says Robert Medler, Western Growers Manager for State Government Affairs in Arizona. “A Legislative solution is important though, as Executive action would not be the preferred way to address this issue facing rural Arizona.” Whether the groundwater site is
in California or Arizona, there is one looming force that affects the situation, and that’s the Colorado River. Last year, California, Arizona and Nevada all agreed to cut water use from the Colorado River by 10 percent, which equates to about 3-million acre feet of water, through 2026. The cuts to municipalities, tribes and agriculture results in reverberating water effects, some of which will influence groundwater use throughout 2024. As a geological force, water is a juggernaut of power. It cuts through mountains and
shapes deserts. The influence it has on nature is matched in the tenacity needed to manage human interests related to this resource. Contact Western Growers for more information and ways to engage with current and future water issues. Gail Delihant, Senior Director of Government Affairs in California, can be reached at gdelihant@wga.com and Robert Medler, Manager of Government Affairs in Arizona, can be reached at rmedler@wga.com .
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