A. In addition to the provisions of the management plan for the second management period prescribed by section 45-565, subsection A, not later than January 1, 1995 the director shall include in the management plan a non-per capita conservation program for municipal providers that requires a municipal provider approved for the program to implement specific conservation programs within its service area, including all of the following:

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 45-565.01

  • 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or, in the case of the Santa Cruz active management area, active management of any water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well.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
  • Conservation district: means a multi-county water conservation district established under Title 48, Chapter 22. 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
  • 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
  • Incidental recharge: means the percolation of water to an aquifer after the water has been withdrawn, diverted or received for delivery by a municipal provider for use within its service area, except water that is added to an aquifer pursuant to chapter 3. See Arizona Laws 45-561
  • Incidental recharge factor: means the ratio of the amount of incidental recharge attributable to a municipal provider during a calendar year to the amount of water withdrawn, diverted or received for delivery by the municipal provider for use within its service area during the year. See Arizona Laws 45-561
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Management period: means a period of years prescribed by sections 45-564 through 45-568 during which a prescribed management plan applies. See Arizona Laws 45-561
  • Member service area: means the service area of a city, town or private water company that qualifies as a member service area of a conservation district as provided by Title 48, Chapter 22. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Mined groundwater: means the amount of groundwater withdrawn or received by a municipal provider from within an active management area during a calendar year for use in its service area, minus both of the following, as applicable:

    (a) An amount of water computed by multiplying the amount of water supplied by the municipal provider for use within its service area during the calendar year by the incidental recharge factor established for the municipal provider pursuant to this article. See Arizona Laws 45-561

  • Municipal provider: means a city, town, private water company or irrigation district that supplies water for non-irrigation use. See Arizona Laws 45-561
  • replenishment district: means a district that is established pursuant to Title 48, Chapter 27. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Service area: means :

    (a) With respect to a city or town, the area of land actually being served water, for a non-irrigation use, by the city or town plus:

    (i) Additions to such area that contain an operating distribution system owned by the city or town primarily for the delivery of water for a non-irrigation use. 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
  • town: means a city or town incorporated or chartered under the constitution and laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Water district: means an active management area water district that is established under Title 48, Chapter 28 and that has adopted an ordinance or resolution to undertake water district groundwater replenishment obligations as defined and used in Title 48, Chapter 28, Article 7. See Arizona Laws 45-402
  • Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215

1. Residential and nonresidential conservation programs for interior and exterior water use.

2. A public education program relating to water conservation.

3. A program to meter all service area connections, except connections to fire services, dwelling units in multifamily residential structures, mobile homes in mobile home parks with master meters and construction users.

B. In a non-per capita conservation program established under this section, the director shall establish a standard incidental recharge factor for all municipal providers that apply for the program, except for municipal providers that are members of a groundwater replenishment district established under Title 48, Chapter 27. A municipal provider that applies for the non-per capita conservation program may request in its application that the director establish an incidental recharge factor for the municipal provider that is different than the standard incidental recharge factor established in the program. The director may establish a different incidental recharge factor for the municipal provider if the municipal provider demonstrates to the satisfaction of the director that the ratio of the average annual amount of incidental recharge expected to be attributable to the municipal provider during the management period to the average annual amount of water expected to be withdrawn, diverted or received for delivery by the municipal provider for use within its service area during the management period is different than the standard incidental recharge factor.

C. A municipal provider may apply for a non-per capita conservation program established under this section if any of the following applies:

1. The municipal provider is a member of a groundwater replenishment district established under Title 48, Chapter 27.

2. The service area of the municipal provider has qualified as a member service area under Title 48, Chapter 22, or as a water district member service area under Title 48, Chapter 28, and the conditions established under Section 45-576.01, subsection B, paragraphs 2 and 3 are met by the conservation district or the water district, as applicable, for the active management area in which the service area is located.

3. The municipal provider has developed a plan to both:

(a) Reduce the proportion of mined groundwater supplied by it for use within its service area such that the result computed by dividing the volume of mined groundwater supplied by the provider for use within its service area in a year by the volume of all water supplied by the provider for use within its service area in that year does not exceed:

(i) Fourteen-fifteenths for 1996.

(ii) Thirteen-fifteenths for 1997.

(iii) Four-fifths for 1998.

(iv) Eleven-fifteenths for 1999.

(v) Two-thirds for 2000.

(vi) Three-fifths for 2001.

(vii) Eight-fifteenths for 2002.

(viii) Seven-fifteenths for 2003.

(ix) Two-fifths for 2004.

(x) One-third for 2005.

(xi) Four-fifteenths for 2006.

(xii) One-fifth for 2007.

(xiii) Two-fifteenths for 2008.

(xiv) One-fifteenth for 2009.

(b) Deliver no mined groundwater for use within its service area after January 1, 2010.

4. The municipal provider is designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576.

5. The municipal provider has applied to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576 and the director has not yet granted or denied the application.

6. The municipal provider is a city or town that is deemed to have an assured water supply under section 45-576, subsection E and both of the following apply:

(a) The municipal provider has not applied to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576.

(b) The municipal provider can demonstrate that if it was applying to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576, its projected groundwater use would be found to be consistent with achieving the management goal of the active management area under the criteria contained in those rules.

D. The director shall prescribe and furnish an application form for a non-per capita conservation program established under this section that includes the following:

1. If the municipal provider requests an incidental recharge factor different than the standard incidental recharge factor established by the director pursuant to subsection B of this section:

(a) A copy of a hydrological study that demonstrates the amount of water withdrawn, diverted or received for delivery by the municipal provider for use within its service area during each of the preceding five years and the amount of incidental recharge that was attributable to the municipal provider during each of those years.

(b) A copy of a hydrological study that projects the average annual amount of water that will be withdrawn, diverted or received for delivery by the municipal provider for use within its service area during the management period and the average annual amount of incidental recharge that will be attributable to the municipal provider during the management period.

2. If the municipal provider is applying for the program under subsection C, paragraph 3 of this section, a copy of the plan described in that paragraph.

3. If the municipal provider is applying for the program under subsection C, paragraph 6 of this section, information demonstrating that if the municipal provider was applying to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576, the municipal provider’s projected groundwater use would be found to be consistent with achieving the management goal of the active management area under the criteria contained in those rules.

4. A description of the conservation programs currently being implemented by the municipal provider, and any conservation programs that the municipal provider intends to implement if it is approved for the non-per capita conservation program, including a time schedule for implementing the programs.

5. Any other information that the director may require.

E. The director shall approve a municipal provider’s application for a non-per capita conservation program established under this section only if the following conditions are satisfied:

1. The municipal provider agrees in writing to implement specific conservation programs that will result in achieving water use efficiency in the municipal provider’s service area equivalent to the water use efficiency that was assumed by the director in establishing the municipal provider’s per capita conservation requirements pursuant to section 45-565, subsection A, paragraph 2, including the programs described in subsection A of this section.

2. If the municipal provider is applying for the program under subsection C, paragraph 3 of this section, the municipal provider has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the director that it will reduce the proportion of mined groundwater supplied by it for use within its service area to the proportions described in subsection C, paragraph 3, subdivision (a) of this section, and that it will not deliver mined groundwater for use within its service area after January 1, 2010.

3. If the municipal provider is applying for the program under subsection C, paragraph 5 of this section, the director has made a preliminary determination that the municipal provider’s projected groundwater use is consistent with achieving the management goal of the active management area under the criteria contained in rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576. A preliminary determination for purposes of this paragraph is not binding on the director at the time the director determines whether to designate the municipal provider as having an assured water supply.

4. If the municipal provider is applying for the program under subsection C, paragraph 6 of this section, the director has made a preliminary determination that if the municipal provider was applying to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576, the municipal provider’s projected groundwater use would be found to be consistent with achieving the management goal of the active management area under those rules. A preliminary determination of the director for purposes of this paragraph is not binding on the director at the time the director determines whether to designate the municipal provider as having an assured water supply.

F. A municipal provider that is approved for a non-per capita conservation program established under this section shall comply with any individual user requirements prescribed pursuant to section 45-565, subsection A, paragraph 2, except as provided in Section 45-571.02.

G. The director shall include in a non-per capita conservation program established under this section:

1. A requirement that a municipal provider that applied for the program under subsection C, paragraph 3 of this section shall reduce the proportion of mined groundwater supplied by it for use within its service area to the proportions described in subsection C, paragraph 3, subdivision (a) of this section. The director may excuse a municipal provider’s failure to comply with the requirement during any year if the municipal provider demonstrates to the satisfaction of the director that the municipal provider’s failure to comply with the requirement was due to drought conditions or the failure of a surface water distribution system.

2. A requirement that a municipal provider that applied for the program under subsection C, paragraph 4 or 5 of this section shall not supply groundwater for use within its service area in an amount that exceeds that amount of groundwater that the municipal provider may supply for use within its service area consistent with rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576. For purposes of this requirement, if a municipal provider has applied to the director to be designated as having an assured water supply under rules adopted by the director pursuant to section 45-576 and the application is not approved, the amount of groundwater that the municipal provider may supply for use within its service area consistent with the rules is the amount of groundwater that the director determines the municipal provider would have been allowed to supply consistent with the rules if the application had been granted.

H. A municipal provider that applies for a non-per capita conservation program under this section shall comply with the per capita conservation requirements established under section 45-565, subsection A, paragraph 2 until the director approves the application. If the municipal provider’s application for the non-per capita conservation program is approved by the director, the provider is exempt from the per capita conservation requirements prescribed under section 45-565, subsection A, paragraph 2.