WILLCOX — On Tuesday, Arizona Department of Water Resources conducted a community meeting on a water issue that could impact southern Graham County.
Enough signatures have been gathered to put the issue on the November ballot of whether an Active Management Area should be enacted for the Willcox Basin. The Willcox Basin includes Bonita and Sunset in Graham County, as well as Willcox, Kansas Settlement, Dragoon, Sunsites and Pearce in Cochise County.
An AMA regulates the access and withdrawal of groundwater, as well as set conservation measures and monitors impact from wells.
Limits are already being felt — once a call for election has occurred, no land may be irrigated unless it was being legally irrigated during the five years preceding the call for election. That limit will remain in place if voters affirm an AMA or be removed if voters reject an AMA.
Active Management Areas allow for landowners to use a well for non-irrigation purposes, as long as the well has a maximum pump capacity of 35 gallons per minute or less and a permit has been obtained from the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
There are some exceptions to the limits, specifically on certain areas with grandfathered water rights, and for land owners who have made substantial capital investment within the five-year time frame.
There are currently five Active Management Areas in the state — Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott; and Pinal and Santa Cruz counties. There are also three Irrigation Non-expansion Areas — Douglas, Harquahala and Joseph City.
