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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
water storage facility; withdrawals; area
Purpose
Requires the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), if a recovery well permit applicant foregoes submitting a separate hydrologic study and the well is located within outlined locations, to assume the recovery well is located within the stored water’s area of impact.
Background
Current statute allows a person to apply to the Director of ADWR for a water storage permit and store water at an underground storage facility or a groundwater savings facility pursuant to a water storage permit (A.R.S. § 45-831.01). Before recovering water from any well with water stored pursuant to a water storage permit, a person must apply for and receive a recovery well permit from the Director of ADWR. The Director of ADWR must issue the recovery well permit if the Director determines that: 1) the proposed recovery of stored water will not unreasonably increase damage to surrounding land or other water users from the concentration of wells, if the application is for a new well; 2) the applicant has the right to use the existing well, if the applicant is a city, town, private water company or irrigation district in an active management area (AMA) and the application is for an existing well within those locations; and 3) the applicant has a right to use the existing well, if the applicant is a conservation district and the application is for an existing well within the conservation district and within the groundwater basin or subbasin in which the stored water is located.
A person who
holds long-term storage credits or who may recover water on an annual basis may
recover the water stored within an AMA pursuant to a water storage permit if:
1) the proposed recovery well is located within the area of impact of the
stored water and either the person recovering the water is the storer or the
stored water to be recovered is Colorado River water;
2) the proposed recovery well is located outside the area of impact of the
stored water and statutorily prescribed conditions apply; or 3) the proposed
recovery well is located within the area of impact of the stored water, the
person recovering the water is not the storer, the stored water to be recovered
is not Colorado River water and statutorily prescribed conditions apply (A.R.S.
§ 45-834.01).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires the Director of ADWR, for the purposes of the recovery of stored water within an AMA and if a recovery well permit applicant does not submit a separate hydrologic study to the Director, to assume that the recovery well is located within the stored water's area of impact if the recovery well location is either in land permitted to operate as a groundwater savings facility or within one mile of:
a) the exterior boundary of a constructed underground storage facility basin or other water storage infrastructure; or
b) the middle line of a drainage channel within the storage area of a managed underground storage facility.
2. Makes technical changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 13, 2026
SB/NRG/hk