Basic Terminology

[ A ] [ B ] [ C ] [ D ] [ E ] [ F ] [ G ] [ H ] [ I ] [ J ] [ K ] [ L ] [ M ]

[ N ] [ O ] [ P ] [ Q ] [ R ] [ S ] [ T ] [ U ] [ V ] [ W ] [ X ] [ Y ] [ Z ]

A

An Acre-foot (af) is a water measurement that equals the amount of water one foot deep covering one flat acre of land. 1 af = 325,851 gallons or 43,560 cu. ft of water.

An Active Management Area (AMA) is a geographic area that has been designated pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-411 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or, in the case of the Santa Cruz active management area, active management of any water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well. Subsequent active management areas may be designated through local initiative or by the Director of the Department.

The Adequate Water Supply Program requires anyone who offers subdivided land outside of an AMA for sale or lease to obtain a determination from the State regarding the availability of water supplies before the land may be marketed to the public as defined in R12-15-715 et seq.

An Aquifer is a geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated materials to be capable of yielding or transmitting water in usable quantities to a well.

Area of Impact is the area where stored water has migrated or is located (defined by a one-foot rise in the water table), as projected on the land surface. The area of impact for a GSF is the aerial extent of the service area of the Irrigation District or other entity operating the GSF.

The Assured Water Supply Program requires anyone who offers subdivided or unsubdivided land inside an AMA for sale or lease to demonstrate an assured supply of water to ADWR before the land may be marketed to the public, as defined in R12-15-701 et seq.

C

Central Arizona Project (CAP) Water is Colorado River water delivered through the facilities of the Central Arizona Project (CAP canals), and Plan 6 water.

To Convey a permit is to transfer the ownership of a permit from one person to another.

D

Drawdown is the lowering of the water table, caused by pumping water from an aquifer.

E

Effluent is water that has been collected in a sanitary sewer for subsequent treatment in a facility that is regulated pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 49-361 and 49-362.

G

Groundwater is water under the surface of the earth regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving.

I

An Impermeable Layer or Confining Formation is a relatively solid geologic unit immediately overlying and/or underlying an aquifer. Confining material often defines the boundaries of an aquifer.

An Injection Well is a well constructed for the purpose of introducing water directly into the aquifer.

In lieu Water is water that is delivered by a water storer to a groundwater savings facility (GSF) pursuant to permits issued under A.R.S. § 45-812.01 and that is used in an active management area (AMA) or an irrigation non-expansion area (INA) by the recipient on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater that otherwise would have been pumped from within that AMA or INA.

An Irrigation Non-expansion Area (INA) is a geographic area that has been designated pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-431   as having insufficient groundwater to provide a reasonably safe supply for the irrigation of the cultivated lands at the current rate of withdrawal.

P

A Percolation Basin is a depressed area of land designed to hold water while allowing that water to percolate into the ground for the recharge of groundwater.

A Permittee is anyone who holds underground storage facility (USF), groundwater savings facility (GSF), water storage (WS), or recovery well (RW) permits.

Plan 6 Water is surface water from any source conserved and developed through dams and reservoirs in the Central Arizona Project and lawfully delivered by the United States or a multi-county conservation district.

R

Recharge is the process of adding water to an aquifer. The process of recharging water, when done pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-811.01 et seq., may result in accumulation of long-term storage credits or the right to recover water. All recharge projects must be permitted in order to accumulate storage credits and later recover stored water (regardless of whether they are inside of an AMA).

The Recoverable Amount is the amount of water stored, as determined by the Director, minus losses for evaporation and transpiration, as well as a percent credited to the aquifer pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-852.01, so long as the water was stored in accordance with A.R.S. § 45-801 et seq.

Replenishment is the storage of water or use of long-term storage credits by a groundwater replenishment district, multi-county water conservation district or an active management area water district to fulfill their duties as described in Title 48 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

S

A Sanitary Sewer is any pipe or other enclosed conduit that carries, among other substances, any water-carried wastes from the human body from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants or institutions.

Stored Water is water that is stored underground pursuant to a permit issued under A.R.S. § 45-831.01. Generally, this is water that cannot be used directly.

A Storer is a person who holds a water storage permit pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-831.01.

Subdivided Land is land that is divided into six or more lots with at least one lot comprising less than 36 acres.

Subsidence is the settling or lowering of the land surface.

W

A Well is a man made opening in the earth through which water may be withdrawn or obtained from beneath the surface of the earth except as provided in A.R.S. § 45-591.01.