Pinal AMA Industrial Conservation Program

The Groundwater Code (Code) defines industrial use of water as "a non-irrigation use of water not supplied by a city, town or private water company, including animal industry use and expanded animal industry use." An industrial user is a person who uses groundwater for an industrial use. In most cases, industrial users withdraw groundwater from their own wells, which are associated with a Type 1 or Type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered right or a groundwater withdrawal permit. These rights and permits have annual volumetric groundwater allotments. In addition, there are also two types of groundwater users that, although served by municipal water providers, are subject to industrial program conservation requirements. These users include turf-related facilities and cooling towers and are defined as "individual users" in the management plan and are regulated through the industrial conservation program.

Industrial users in the Pinal AMA use groundwater primarily for industrial processing, cooling, and landscape watering. Industrial users with groundwater rights or permits currently account for over 20,000 acre-feet, or about 2 percent of the AMA’s total annual water use. Industrial water use, including that by individual users served by municipal providers, is expected to continue to increase as new industries move into the area.

Third Management Plan Conservation Requirements for Industrial Users

For the third management period, there are general conservation requirements that apply to water use characteristics common to "all industrial users." (click here for general conservation requirements) In addition to these requirements, there are specific conservation requirements that apply to the following industrial users:

• Turf-Related Facilities (> 10 acres)
• Large-Scale Cooling Facilities (> 1,000 tons)
• Large-Scale Power Plants (> 25 megawatts)
• Sand and Gravel Facilities (> 100 acre-feet/year)
• Metal Mining Facilities (> 500 acre-feet/year)
• Dairy Operations (monthly average > 100 lactating cows/day)
• Cattle Feedlot Operations (monthly average > 100 beef cattle/year)
• New Large Landscape Users (> 10,000 square feet of water-intensive landscape)
• New Large Industrial Users (> 100 acre-feet/year)

Third Management Plan Modifications

View the 2003 modifications to the Industrial Conservation Program here.