A. In an active management area, a person who owns land which was legally irrigated in whole or in part with groundwater at any time during the five years preceding January 1, 1980 for initial active management areas or the date of the notice of the initiation of designation procedures or the call for the election for subsequent active management areas, which is capable of being irrigated and which has not been retired from irrigation for a non-irrigation use pursuant to section 45-463 or 45-469 has the right to use groundwater for the irrigation of such land as determined pursuant to subsections B and C of this section.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-465

  • Active management area: means a geographical area that has been designated pursuant to article 2 of this chapter as requiring active management of groundwater or, in the case of the Santa Cruz active management area, active management of any water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Director: means the director of water resources, who is also the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Farm: means an area of irrigated land that is under the same ownership, that is served by a water distribution system common to the irrigated land and to which can be applied common conservation, water measurement and water accounting procedures. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Farm unit: means :

    (a) With respect to areas outside an active management area and with respect to an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area, one or more farms that are irrigated with groundwater and that are contiguous or in proximity to each other with similar soil conditions, crops and cropping patterns. See Arizona Laws 45-402

  • Grandfathered right: means a right to withdraw and use groundwater pursuant to article 5 of this chapter based on the fact of lawful withdrawals and use of groundwater before the date of the designation of an active management area. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Groundwater: means water under the surface of the earth regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • Irrigation acre: means an acre of land, as determined in section 45-465, subsection B, to which an irrigation grandfathered right is appurtenant. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Irrigation district: means a political subdivision, however designated, established pursuant to Title 48, Chapter 17 or 19. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Irrigation grandfathered right: means a grandfathered right determined pursuant to section 45-465. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Irrigation use: means :

    (a) With respect to areas outside an active management area and with respect to an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area, the use of groundwater on two or more acres of land to produce plants or parts of plants for sale or human consumption, or for use as feed for livestock, range livestock or poultry, as such terms are defined in section 3-1201. See Arizona Laws 45-402

  • Non-irrigation use: means :

    (a) With respect to areas outside an active management area and with respect to an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area, a use of groundwater other than an irrigation use. See Arizona Laws 45-402

  • Owner: means :

    (a) With respect to an irrigation grandfathered right or a type 1 non-irrigation grandfathered right, the owner of the land to which the right is appurtenant. See Arizona Laws 45-461

  • Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, society, estate or trust, any other private organization or enterprise, the United States, any state, territory or country or a governmental entity, political subdivision or municipal corporation organized under or subject to the constitution and laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Stored water: means water that is stored underground for the purpose of recovery pursuant to a permit issued under chapter 3. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Surface water: means the waters of all sources, flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels, or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, floodwater, wastewater or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface. See Arizona Laws 45-101
  • water duty: means the amount of water in acre-feet per acre that is reasonable to apply to irrigated land in a farm unit during the accounting period, as determined by the director pursuant to sections 45-564 through 45-568 or as prescribed in section 45-483. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Water duty acres: means the acres of land in a farm, as determined pursuant to section 45-465, subsection B, which are used in calculating the maximum amount of groundwater which may be used pursuant to an irrigation grandfathered right. See Arizona Laws 45-461
  • Well: means a man-made opening in the earth through which water may be withdrawn or obtained from beneath the surface of the earth except as provided in Section 45-591. See Arizona Laws 45-402

B. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, the director shall compute the maximum amount of groundwater which may be used pursuant to this section as follows:

1. Determine the farm units, as defined in section 45-402, within the active management area.

2. Determine the irrigation water duty, as defined in section 45-402, for each farm unit in an active management area, pursuant to sections 45-564 through 45-568.

3. Determine the water duty acres for each farm within the farm unit. The water duty acres are the highest number of acres in the farm, taking land rotation into account, which were legally irrigated during any one year in the five years preceding January 1, 1980 for initial active management areas or the date of the notice of the initiation of designation procedures or the call for the election for subsequent active management areas.

4. Determine the irrigation acres for each farm within the farm unit. The irrigation acres are the acres in the farm which were legally irrigated at any time during the five years preceding January 1, 1980 for initial active management areas or the date of the notice of the initiation of designation procedures or the call for the election for subsequent active management areas, which are capable of being irrigated and which have not been retired from irrigation for a non-irrigation use pursuant to section 45-463 or 45-469.

5. Multiply the water duty acres for each farm within the farm unit by the irrigation water duty for the farm unit and divide that amount by the number of irrigation acres in the farm. The result shall be the maximum amount of groundwater which may be used per year for the irrigation of each irrigation acre in the farm. If the farm is located in an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area and is irrigated solely with groundwater, the amount of groundwater used by the farm for irrigation shall be accounted for pursuant to section 45-467, subsection C. If a farm is located in an active management area other than the Santa Cruz active management area and is irrigated with a combination of surface water and groundwater, the amount of groundwater used by the farm for irrigation shall be accounted for pursuant to section 45-467, subsection D. If a farm is located in the Santa Cruz active management area, the amount of water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well and used by the farm for irrigation purposes shall be accounted for pursuant to section 45-467, subsection E or F.

C. A person who owns land described in subsection A of this section and whose water use on the land is regulated under a best management practices program that is adopted by the director pursuant to Section 45-566.02, subsection F, Section 45-567.02, subsection G or Section 45-568.02, subsection G:

1. Has the right to use groundwater for an irrigation use on the irrigation acres within that land as those acres are determined pursuant to subsection B, paragraph 4 of this section.

2. Is exempt from the provisions of subsection B of this section with respect to that land.

D. The right to use groundwater pursuant to this section for the irrigation of an irrigation acre is an irrigation grandfathered right and is appurtenant to that acre. An irrigation grandfathered right is owned by the owner of the land to which it is appurtenant and may be leased for an irrigation use with the land to which it is appurtenant.

E. A person who owns or leases irrigation acres may use the total amount of groundwater allowed by the irrigation grandfathered right for such acres for the irrigation of all or a portion of such acres.

F. If the irrigation water duty for the farm unit in which an irrigation acre is located is reduced by the director pursuant to article 9 of this chapter, the amount of groundwater which may be used for the irrigation of such acre pursuant to the irrigation grandfathered right under subsection B of this section is reduced accordingly.

G. For purposes of this chapter, the amount of groundwater which may be used or is used is the amount of groundwater withdrawn by the groundwater user, measured at the point of withdrawal, and the amount of groundwater received by the groundwater user from an irrigation district or other source.

 

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