Assigned to NREW AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1041
groundwater savings certificate; assured water
Purpose
Adds a Groundwater Savings Certificate as an alternative to a Certificate of Assured Water
Supply.
Background
Obtaining an assured water supply means: 1) sufficient groundwater, surface water or
effluent of adequate quality will be continuously available to satisfy the water needs of the
proposed use for at least 100 years; 2) the projected groundwater use is consistent with the
management plan and achievement of the management goal for the active management area
(AMA); and 3) the financial capability has been demonstrated to construct the water facilities
necessary to make the supply of water available for the proposed use, including a delivery system
and any storage facilities or treatment works (A.R.S. § 45-576).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. Adds a Groundwater Savings Certificate as an alternative to a Certificate of Assured Water
Supply for the requirement that:
a) a person who proposes to offer subdivided lands for sale or lease in an Active Management
Area (AMA) present a certificate to the Director of the Arizona Department of Water
Resources (ADWR) before presenting the plat for approval to the city, town or county or
before filing a notice of intention to offer such lands for sale or lease with the State Real
Estate Commissioner;
b) a city, town or county approve a subdivision plat if the subdivider has obtained a certificate
from the Director of ADWR (Director) or the subdivider has obtained a written
commitment of water service for the subdivision from a city, town or private water
company designated as having a certificate;
c) a subdivider, owner or agent has paid any activation fee required and any replenishment
reserve fee required and has obtained a certificate from the Director prior to the State Real
Estate Commissioner issuing a public report authorizing the sale or lease of subdivided
lands;
d) the subdivider has obtained a written commitment of water service for the lands from a
city, town or private water company designated as having an assured water supply or a
Groundwater Savings Certificate prior to the State Real Estate Commissioner issuing a
public report authorizing the sale or lease of subdivided lands; FACT SHEET – Amended
S.B. 1041
Page 2
2. Requires the city, town or county to note on the face of the approved plat that a Groundwater
Savings Certificate has been submitted with the plat or that the subdivider has obtained a
written commitment of water service for the proposed subdivision from a city, town or private
water company designated a Groundwater Savings Certificate.
3. Subjects to review by the Director the determination that the city or town has a Groundwater
Savings Certificate.
4. Allows the Director to determine that a city or town does not have a Groundwater Savings
Certificate.
5. Exempts persons proposing to offer subdivided lands served by designated cities, towns and
private water companies for sale or lease from applying for and obtaining a Groundwater
Savings Certificate.
6. Requires the established ADWR rules, by January 1, 2025, to provide for a reduction in water
demand for an application for a Groundwater Savings Certificate if a gray water system will
be installed that meets the requirements of the rules adopted by the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality for gray water systems and, if the application is for a Groundwater
Savings Certificate, the land for which the certificate is sought must qualify as a member land
in a conservation district.
7. Defines a Groundwater Savings Certificate as requiring that:
a) the land that is the subject of the application for a Groundwater Savings Certificate is or
will be enrolled as member land in an authorized groundwater replenishment district;
b) the applicant has demonstrated, pursuant to groundwater models, that wells that are located
or hypothetically located on the land that is the subject of the application for a Groundwater
Savings Certificate or wells that are legally authorized to provide water service to that land
can be operated continuously for 100 years at the annual demand of the proposed
development without exceeding at the location of the well or wells a depth to water of
1,000 feet or the depth of the bottom of the aquifer, whichever is less;
c) the applicant for a Groundwater Savings Certificate makes no claim to any sewage that
may be produced from the use of water on the land and relinquishes any claim to the
authorized sewage treatment provider that will provide sewer service to the land;
d) the projected groundwater use is consistent with the management plan and achievement of
the management goal for the AMA;
e) the projected groundwater will be of adequate quality to satisfy the proposed water needs;
and
f) the applicant or a groundwater replenishment district has demonstrated sufficient financial
capability to deliver the necessary water of adequate quality.
8. Designates the act as the Groundwater Protection and Housing Affordability Act.
9. Requires Legislative Council staff to prepare proposed legislation conforming the Arizona
Revised Statutes to the provisions of the Groundwater Protection and Housing Affordability
Act for consideration in the 57
th
Legislature, 1
st
Regular Session.
10. Makes technical and conforming changes. FACT SHEET – Amended
S.B. 1041
Page 3
11. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the Committee
1. Removes various circumstances in which a Groundwater Savings Certificate is an alternative
for an assured water supply.
2. Adds to the definition of Groundwater Savings Certificate.
Senate Action
NREW 2/15/24 DPA 4-2-1
Prepared by Senate Research
February 16, 2024
RA/slp