Warren Tenney, Executive Director of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA), recently published an article on the state’s proposed rules that would benefit those who have been unable to obtain Assured Water Supply designations due to the halt on development on the outskirts of the Valley. The development restrictions were enacted in response to ADWR’s 2023 groundwater model, which indicated a lack of supplies for meeting demands over the next 100 years.
The Alternative Pathway to Designation — or “ADAWS” — rules aim to ensure that development can continue in service areas where providers are willing to invest in renewable supplies and infrastructure. The rules would require a provider to be responsible for all pumping within its service area and acquire new supplies, and they include constraints to ensure that the provider’s pumping decreases over the next 100 years. For example, after acquiring a renewable water source, the provider must reduce its dependence on groundwater by 25% of the renewable supply.
AMWUA believes that the ADAWS rules provide a rigorous path for undesignated providers to obtain a Designation and acknowledges that the success of these rules depends, in part, on how many providers will rise to the challenge.