Office of Assured & Adequate Water Supply Program

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The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) Assured and Adequate Water Supply Programs were created to address the problem of limited groundwater supplies in Arizona:

• The Assured Water Supply Program functions to protect and preserve limited groundwater supplies within Arizona’s five Active Management Areas (AMAs). AMAs are those areas of the state where significant
groundwater depletion has occurred and include portions of Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz and Yavapai County

• Outside the AMAs, the Adequate Water Supply Program, while not as protective as the Assured Water Supply Program, acts as a consumer advisory program, ensuring that potential real estate buyers are informed about any water supply limitations.

Applicability

The Assured and Adequate Water Supply Programs apply when a subdivision is being developed, and thus are driven by the definition of a subdivision from the Arizona Department of Real Estate:

A subdivision is six or more parcels with at least one parcel having an area less than 36 acres. This includes residential or commercial subdivisions, stock cooperatives, condominiums, and all lands subdivided as part of a common promotional plan (including golf courses, parks, schools, and other amenities). Short-term leases (12 months or less) and subdivisions where all parcels are greater than 36 acres in size do not fall under this definition.

Demonstration of Assured or
Adequate Water Supplies

ADWR’s Assured Water Supply program operates within Arizona’s five Active Management Areas. It is designed to sustain the state’s economic health by preserving groundwater resources and promoting long-term water supply planning. Before recording plats or selling parcels, developers must demonstrate all of the criteria in the table to the right. The Arizona Department of Real Estate will not issue a public report, which allows the developer to sell lots, without
a demonstration of an assured water supply.

ADWR’s Adequate Water Supply Program operates outside the Active Management Areas and was enacted in response to the marketing of lots without available water supplies. Only the first five criteria to the right must be demonstrated to obtain a Designation of Adequate Water Supply. State statute requires subdivision developers to obtain a determination from ADWR regarding water supply availability before
marketing lots. Inadequacy of supply must be disclosed to potential buyers.

**As an alternative to the developer demonstrating an Assured or Adequate Water Supply, the water provider may instead secure a Designation of Assured or Adequate Water Supply for the entire service area. The developer is then only
required to obtain a written commitment of service from the
provider. The most populous cities within most AMAs have obtained a Designation of Assured Water Supply, thereby qualifying most new subdivisions without need for separate studies.**

Active Management Area Goals

Arizona’s 1980 Groundwater Code established management goals for each AMA.

The Assured Water Supply Program is a key tool designed to assist in the achievement of these goals.

AMA Goal	Goal
Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott	Attain safe-yield by the year 2025
Pinal	Preserve existing agricultural economies for as long as feasible, while preserving future water supplies for non-irrigation uses
Santa Cruz	Maintain a safe-yield condition and prevent long-term local water table declines