A compromise between Republican legislators and Gov. Katie Hobbs could free up water rights to develop hundreds of thousands of new homes in Maricopa and Pinal counties, with the possibility of also including Pima County under additional measures.
The so-called “ag to urban” agreement would let homebuilders purchase water rights to agricultural lands from farmers who retire the properties if the developers promise to use only a given percentage of the water previously used on the farms for supplying the new housing.
Several housing development plans, particularly in Pinal County and suburbs west of Phoenix, have stalled due to water use policies and restrictions, including a 2023 moratorium on water certificates for new developments in parts of Queen Creek and Buckeye.
Hobbs had backed the moratorium by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, which relied on modeling data that found groundwater supplies insufficient to meet requirements under a 1980 law. That law—The Groundwater Management Act—requires builders to show they have a 100-year assured water supply.
State Sen. T. J. Shope, R-Coolidge, confirmed the agreement last week.
While the initial ag to urban compromise affects only Maricopa and Pinal, if a moratorium on new water certificates is put in place, the Pima County Active Management Area could be added.
Shope said up to a million homes could potentially be built while saving significant amounts of water if the full measure is implemented.
The compromise is not without its detractors, however. Rural Arizona officials have criticized Hobbs for agreeing to ag to urban areas without ensuring groundwater in their areas is protected and referred to the agreement as a missed opportunity.
Republicans have previously refused to advance proposals for rural water supply protection.
For her part, Hobbs had previously vetoed more expansive ag to urban bills, saying they did not ensure sufficient water supplies or conservation and they should not apply to the entire state because of different conditions in different parts of Arizona. (Source)