Welcome to the Rural Arizona Watershed Alliance (RAWA) website. This section is intended as a communication and information resource for people living in the 87 percent of Arizona located outside the state’s five “Active Management Areas (AMAs)*." During the past 20 years, the Arizona Department of Water Resources has created the five AMAs to monitor urban, agricultural, industrial, and mining activity stemming from the heavy concentration of population and water use in certain parts of Arizona. The AMA numbers are striking:

• About 80 percent of Arizona's population resides within the five AMAs.

• The AMAs account for about 75 percent of the state's water consumption.

• But the AMAs cover only 13 percent of Arizona's land mass.

• The regulatory focus is on the five AMAs, but the Department is responsible for – and committed to – non-regulatory water resource planning statewide.

Over the past years, the Department has provided substantial planning assistance to rural areas with expanding populations, limited groundwater resources and unique environmental features. The Department has assisted citizen organizations and local governments by providing technical information and analysis, administrative support and advice on water issues.

Click here for Watershed Alliance Interactive Map