On June 30, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed into law Senate Bill 1611, establishing an “Ag-to-Urban” Groundwater Conservation Program in an effort to save groundwater.
The bill creates a voluntary program that encourages water users with irrigation grandfathered rights to retire their pumping rights in exchange for credits to be used for lower water use urban development.
“The Ag-to-Urban Program is based on the significant reduction in groundwater use that would otherwise continue if the grandfathered rights to irrigate farmland were not retired,” said Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke. “The strong bipartisan support for this program is an indication that Arizona can make the hard choices on water needed in an era of limits.”
