On June 1, 2023, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs revealed the results of a new groundwater model prepared by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR”) that predicts the future availability of groundwater for pumping throughout most of the Phoenix Active Management Area (the “Phoenix AMA”) over the 100-year period mandated by ADWR’s Assured Water Supply […]
This article is Part 5 of Snell & Wilmer’s series on Arizona’s water supply and legal framework. So far in this series we have examined the most common and most-used water sources in Arizona’s diverse water portfolio: groundwater, surface water, and Colorado River water. This article describes Arizona’s long-term storage credit (LTSC) system, which provides […]
by L. William Staudenmaier The Colorado River is a critical water source for more than 40 million people, vast agricultural operations, numerous industries, and a wide variety of ecological resources across the seven states that share its waters: Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The River is regulated by the United States […]
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by Fred Breedlove Arizona’s 1980 Groundwater Code offers a unique opportunity for the public to get involved in shaping water policy through the process of adopting management plans for the Active Management Areas (“AMAs”). The process is playing out now and there are still opportunities to make your voice heard. There are five AMAs, generally […]
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by L. William Staudenmaier In November 2019, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) released the results of an updated groundwater model that projects a groundwater availability deficit over the next 100 years in the Pinal Active Management Area (AMA) in central Arizona. The 100-year projection is driven by Arizona’s Assured Water Supply program, which […]
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by L. William Staudenmaier On August 9, 2018, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a decision with potentially important implications for future residential and commercial development in Arizona. In Silver v. Pueblo Del Sol Water Company, a divided court held that the Arizona Department of Water Resources (“ADWR” or the “Department”) properly applied a long-standing regulation implementing […]
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by Bill Staudenmaier It has become a familiar refrain. For each of the past three years, the United States Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the major reservoirs on the Colorado River, has announced a new “record low” water elevation in Lake Mead. A quick Google search identifies articles or posts discussing this downward trend in […]
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