BOWIE — A public hearing will take place next month on whether water restrictions should be placed on the San Simon Valley Sub-basin.
On Sept. 15, 2025, 19 local growers petitioned Arizona Department of Water Resources to declare the San Simon Valley Sub-basin as an Irrigation Non-expansion Area. ADWR reviewed the petitioners, to determine if they met the criteria of irrigators pumping 35 gallons or more per minute of groundwater.
One grower did not meet that criteria; however the 18 remaining petitioners met the other criteria to call a hearing — they represented 25 percent or more of qualifying irrigators filing the petition.
A meeting was put on hold following a court challenge to an INA established in the Hualapai Valley in Mohave County. ADWR appealed the court ruling, and a hearing for the request for an INA in the San Simon Valley Sub-basin was set for Oct. 24, 2026.
Until a decision is reached on whether to impose an INA on the area, irrigation of new land is prohibited.
Under an Irrigation Non-Expansion Area, no new farming is allowed but existing farms are grandfathered in. Growers pumping 35 gallons or more per minute must install water-measuring equipment and report that data to ADWR.
Residential wells are exempt from INA requirements.
Arizona Department of Water Resources rejected the petition for an INA for the San Simon Sub-basin in 2015, finding at the time there was sufficient groundwater for farm irrigation.
The San Simon Sub-basin is part of the Safford Groundwater Basin, and includes northeastern Cochise County — including the communities of Bowie and San Simon — and portions of southern Graham and Greenlee counties.
In 2024, ADWR designated the adjacent Willcox Basin an Active Management Area, which regulates the access and withdrawal of groundwater, as well as sets conservation measures and monitors impact from wells.
The Willcox Basin includes Willcox, Pearce Sunsites and Dragoon in Cochise County; and Bonita and Sunrise in Graham County.
