PHOENIX — To keep rural Arizona from running dry, a bill introduced in the legislature could finally set up a framework to regulate some of the state's groundwater supply.
Senate Bill 1221 would help establish what's known as a Basin Management Area, or BMA, giving voters within groundwater basins in rural Arizona the power to decide how they'd want their water to be managed.
The bill, sponsored by Republican State Senator Sine Kerr, states that at least 15% of registered voters who use groundwater for drinking can petition to create a BMA. This would be followed up by public meetings and final approval from county board supervisors.
According to Senator Kerr, the bill allows for more flexibility, voluntary conservation, and incentivizing conservation as well.
Senate Bill 1221 has support from many agricultural interests in the state that promote its transparency.
"It's got a lot of local engagement, which is important for rural Arizona," said Stefanie Smallhouse with the Arizona Farm Bureau. "It has flexibility for local economies to determine their own future and certainly for agriculture.
Not everyone is on board with the bill in its current form, however, including Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter and a coalition of four rural Arizona counties.
They say the bill has too many bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, no conservation mandates, and it would lock in existing groundwater mining rights as well, which could further cripple the water supply for residents and smaller businesses that depend on groundwater for their livelihood.
"We have retirees, we have very young schoolchildren and everyone in between that needs something that will really give some sort of protection to rural Arizonans and not one category," Lingenfelter stated.
A Basin Management Area would be different than an Active Management Area. AMAs are overseen by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, have restrictions on water use, and have conservation requirements.
