Rural Arizona Watershed

Active Management Area (AMA): A geographical area designated by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) as requiring active management of groundwater. Four initial active management areas currently exist in central and southern Arizona within the regions of Phoenix, Pinal, Prescott and Tucson. A fifth active management area was established in Santa Cruz requiring the active management of any water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well.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.

Adjudication: A judicial determination or establishment of the extent and priority of all the surface water rights for any river system and source.

Agricultural Use: Agricultural use includes water supplied for irrigation of crops grown for human or animal consumption.

Alluvium: A deposit of earth, sand, and other transported matter left by water flowing over land not permanently submerged; chiefly applied to the deposits formed in river valleys and deltas.

Alternative Water Supply: A water source, other than groundwater, pumped within an AMA.

Animal Industry Use: The production, growing and feeding of livestock, range livestock or poultry.

Annual Groundwater Allotment: The total amount of groundwater a Grandfathered Right (GFR) holder is authorized to withdraw annually.

Aquifer: A geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated materials to be capable of storing water and transmitting water in usable quantities to a well.

Area of Impact: The area where stored water has migrated or is located, as projected on the land surface.

Artificial Recharge: Water recharged to the aquifer through recharge projects, which may be recovered in the future based on accrued recharge credits.

Assigned Irrigation Efficiency: The maximum economically feasible levels of conservation within areas of similar farming conditions which each IGFR holder is expected to achieve.

Assured Water Supply: A water supply that meets all of the following criteria as defined in Rules:

1. Physical, legal and continuous availability for 100 years;

2. Meets water quality standards;

3. Demonstrated financial capability to construct the delivery system and related features;

4. Consistency with the AMA’s management plan; and

5. Consistency with the AMA’s management goal.

Augmentation: To supplement the water supply of an AMA, which may include the importation of water into the AMA and the storage of water.

Baseflow: The part of a stream discharge that is not attributable to direct runoff from precipitation or melting snow. It is sustained by groundwater discharge and may be considered as the normal day-to-day flow during most of the year.

Body of Water: A constructed body of water or interconnected bodies of water, including a lake, pond, lagoon, or swimming pool, that has a surface area greater than 12,320 square feet when full and that is filled or refilled primarily for landscape, scenic or recreational purposes, or regulatory storage.

Beneficial Use: Includes, but is not limited to, use for domestic, municipal, recreation, wildlife (including fish), agricultural, mining, stockwatering and power purposes.

Central Arizona Project (CAP): The reclamation project and works authorized to bring about 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water per year to Pima, Pinal and Maricopa counties.

Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD): The multi-county water conservation district established as a special taxing district for the purpose of contracting with the U.S. for the delivery of CAP water and the repayment of associated CAP costs.

Certificate of Assured Water Supply: A permit issued by the director for a development, other than a master-planned community, after the director determines that an assured water supply exists for the development pursuant to A.R.S. §45-576 and Article 7 of the Assured Water Supply Rules.

Certificate of Exemption: A certificate issued by the State Land Dept. or the AZ Corporation Commission, prior to the 1980 Groundwater Management Act. The amount of groundwater use described by an application for a certificate of exemption is recognized as a legal use for the purpose of determining Type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered rights, subject to the finding of mistakes upon appeal.

Colorado River Water: Water from the main stem of the Colorado River.

Committed Demand: Water demand associated with platted, undeveloped lots that will be served in the future. This demand must be included in calculations used to satisfy the AWS rules.

Conservation: The preservation and planned management of water resources to ensure the future availability of water resources.

Conservation District: A multi-county water conservation district established as a special taxing district. Currently, this includes only the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD).

Conservation Potential: The amount of reduction in water use which, based on existing water use, can be achieved from implementing reasonable conservation measures or programs.

Convey: To transfer the ownership of a grandfathered right from one person to another.

Deficit Irrigation: The intentional practice of reducing the number of irrigation applications to lower crop production costs while achieving acceptable yields.

Designation of Assured Water Supply: A decision and order issued by the director designating a municipal provider as having an assured water supply pursuant to statute and the Assured Water Supply Rules.

Direct Use Effluent: Effluent that is transported directly from a facility regulated pursuant to water quality control statutes, to an end user. Effluent that is delivered directly from a wastewater treatment facility is included in this definition, while effluent that is recharged is excluded.

Domestic Use: Uses related to the supply, service, and activities of households and private residences and includes the application of water to less than two acres of land to produce plants or part of plants for sale or human consumption, or for use as feed for livestock, range livestock or poultry, as such terms are defined in 3-1201.

Effluent: Water that has been collected in a sanitary sewer for subsequent treatment in a facility that is regulated as a sewage system, disposal plant or wastewater treatment facility. Such water remains effluent until it acquires the characteristics of groundwater or surface water.

Evapotranspiration: Loss of water from the land through transpiration of plants and evaporation from the soil and surface water bodies.

Excess Central Arizona Project (CAP) Water: CAP water that in any year would otherwise not be delivered to CAP subcontractors or their designees.

Exempt Well: A well with a maximum pumping capacity of not more than 35 gallons per minute, which is used to withdraw groundwater for non-irrigation purposes.

Extinguish: To cause a grandfathered groundwater right to cease to exist through a process established by the director pursuant to rule. Grandfathered rights are extinguished to meet AWS consistency with management goal requirements for obtaining a certificate or designation of assured water supply within an active management area.

Farm: An area of irrigated land that is under the same ownership, which is served by a water distribution system common to the irrigated land and to which can be applied common conservation, water measurement and water accounting procedures.

General Industrial Use (GIU): A non-irrigation use of water, including animal industry use. General industrial use does not include dewatering permits, mineral extraction and metallurgical processing permits, or uses requiring an Assured Water Supply certificate.

Geology: The structural and mineral constitution of the earth (dictionary definition).

Geomorphology: The characteristics, configuration and evolution of rocks and land forms (dictionary definition).

Golf Course: A turf-related facility used for playing golf with a minimum of 9 holes, including any practice areas.

Grandfathered Right(GFR): A right to withdraw and use groundwater within an AMA based on the fact of lawful withdrawals and use of groundwater prior to the AMA’s designation. These rights include Irrigation Grandfathered Rights, Type 1 Non-Irrigation Grandfathered Rights, and Type 2 Non-Irrigation Grandfathered Rights.

Groundwater: Water under the surface of the earth, regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving. Groundwater does not include water flowing in underground streams with ascertainable beds and banks.

Groundwater Basin: An area which may be designated so as to enclose a relatively hydrologically distinct body or related bodies of groundwater, which shall be described horizontally by surface description.

Groundwater Replenishment District: A district established as a special taxing district to develop, store, augment, conserve, replenish or otherwise increase water supplies for the benefit of the district members, consistent with achieving safe-yield.

Groundwater Savings Facility (GSF): A facility within an AMA or INA at which groundwater withdrawals are eliminated or reduced by recipients who use in lieu water on a gallon-for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater that otherwise would have been pumped from within that AMA or INA.

Groundwater Withdrawal Permit: Permits issued by ADWR for withdrawing groundwater under the following categories: dewatering (permanent or temporary), mineral extraction and metallurgical processing, general industrial use (GIU), poor quality groundwater, electrical energy generation (temporary), drainage, and hydrological testing.

In Lieu Water: Water that is delivered to a groundwater savings facility and that is used in an AMA or INA by the recipient on a gallon- for-gallon substitute basis for groundwater that otherwise would have been pumped from within an AMA or INA.

Incidental Recharge: The amount of water which percolates down to the water table after it is used, excluding water that is added to an aquifer pursuant the underground storage, savings and replenishment program.

Individual User: A person receiving water from a municipal provider for a non-irrigation use to which specific conservation requirements apply, including turf-related facilities, large-scale cooling facilities, and publicly-owned rights-of-way.

Industrial Use: A non-irrigation use of water not supplied by a city, town or private water company, including animal industry use and expanded animal industrial use.

Influent: Raw, untreated wastewater flowing into a wastewater treatment plant.

Interstate Stream: Any stream constituting or flowing along the exterior boundaries of this state, and any tributary originating in another state or foreign country and flowing into or through this state.

Irrigation Acre: An acre of land to which an irrigation grandfathered right is appurtenant.

Irrigation District (ID): A political subdivision established as a special taxing district for either agricultural improvement or irrigation and conservation purposes.

Irrigation Efficiency: The maximum economically feasible levels of conservation that each IGFR holder is expected to achieve within areas of similar farming conditions (ASFC), calculated as a percentage. 100 percent efficiency would be achieved by using only the amount of water physiologically needed by the plant, while 75% efficiency would be 1.25 times that amount. For example, a farm assigned a 75% irrigation efficiency for a crop requiring 100 acre-feet of water per acre annually, could legally use 125 acre-feet of groundwater (100 acre-feet x 1.25) annually.

Irrigation Grandfathered Rights (IGFR): A right to irrigate land in an active management area that was legally irrigated any time between 1975 and 1979, based on crops historically grown for which a certificate has been obtained, with a few exceptions for substitution or transfer of acres under specified circumstances. The process for determining acres entitled to and for calculating a groundwater allocation is specified in A.R.S. § 45-465.

Irrigation Non-Expansion Area (INA): A geographical area that has been designated as having insufficient groundwater to provide a reasonably safe supply for the irrigation of the cultivated lands at the current rate of withdrawal. Within INA's, new agricultural use of land occurring on land that was not irrigated in the five years preceding the designation of the INA is prohibited with a few exceptions for substitution or transfer of acres under specified circumstances.

Irrigation Use: The use of groundwater on two or more acres of land to produce plants or parts of plants for sale or human consumption, or for use as feed for livestock, range livestock or poultry. In the Santa Cruz active management area, this definition is expanded to include all water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well.

Irrigation Water Duty: The amount of water, measured in acre-feet per acre, that is reasonable to apply to irrigated farm land, based on crops historically grown from 1975 to 1979.

Large Municipal Provider: Municipal water providers serving more than 250 acre-feet of water for non-irrigation use annually.

Large-Scale Cooling Facility: A facility which has control over cooling operations with a total combined cooling capacity of at least 1,000 tons, excluding large-scale power plants that utilize cooling towers to dissipate heat.

Large-Scale Metal Mining and Processing Facility: An industrial facility at which mining and processing of metallic ores is conducted and which uses, or has the capacity to use, more than 500 acre-feet of water annually. This includes all water sources, including effluent, regardless of the nature of water use.

Large-Scale Power Plant: An industrial facility that produces or is designed to produce more than 25 megawatts of electricity.

Long-Term Storage Account: An account established to credit water stored pursuant to a water storage permit at a water storage facility if the water cannot reasonably be used directly and, if the storage facility is within an AMA, the water would not be naturally recharged to the AMA.

Large Untreated Provider: Municipal water providers serving at least 100 acre-feet of untreated water to at least 500 persons annually, as of January 1, 1990.

Lost and Unaccounted for Water: The total amount of water from any source, except direct use effluent, that is withdrawn, diverted or received in a year by a municipal provider minus the total amount of authorized deliveries made by the municipal provider that year.

Lost Water: Water from any source, including effluent, which enters a distribution system and is lost from the system during transportation or distribution due to seepage, evaporation, leaks, breaks, phreatophyte use, or other causes.

Low Water Use Landscaped Area: An area of land of at least one acre in aggregate, which is an integral part of a turf-related facility, watered by a permanent water application system, and planted primarily with drought tolerant/low water use plants. Mature vegetation planted in a low water use landscape area must cover at least 50% of the turf acres associated with the turf-related facility.

Managed Underground Storage Facility: A facility designed and managed to utilize the natural channel of a stream to store water underground through artificial and controlled releases of water other than surface water naturally present in the stream. Surface water flowing in its natural channel is not a managed underground storage facility.

Maximum Contaminant Level: A primary maximum contaminant level (MCL) represents a drinking water standard set by the Safe Drinking Water Act and enforced by the EPA. An MCL reflects a national primary drinking water regulation in the form of an enforceable numeric drinking water standard representing the maximum permissible level of a constituent in a public water system. A secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL) represents a non-enforceable numeric standard for the aesthetic quality of drinking water, such as taste, odor, or color. Waters with contaminants above a SMCL are not typically expected to cause health problems.

Mined Groundwater: The amount of groundwater withdrawn or received by regulated water users within an AMA during a calendar year for beneficial use, minus incidental recharge.

Municipal Provider: A city, town, private water company or irrigation district that supplies water for municipal use.

Municipal Use: All non-irrigation uses of water supplied by a city, town, private water company or irrigation district.

Net Natural Recharge: The volume of water that naturally recharges the groundwater supply minus natural depletions to the groundwater supply.

New Large Landscape User: A non-residential facility that has a water-intensive landscaped area in excess of 10,000 square feet. The area must have either landscaping planted and maintained after January 1, 1990, or bodies of water (excluding bodies of water for swimming purposes) filled and maintained after January 1, 1990, or both.

Non-Exempt Well: A well with a maximum pumping capacity of more than 35 gallons per minute which is used to withdraw groundwater for non-irrigation purposes only.

Non-Irrigation Grandfathered Right: Refers to grandfathered rights that are associated with irrigated land retired after January 1, 1965 in anticipation of a non-irrigation use, and to grandfathered rights that are not associated with retired irrigated land.

Non-Per Capita Conservation Program: A voluntary alternative municipal program that requires providers to implement reasonable conservation measures (RCM) relating to interior and exterior water use, in addition to an educational water conservation program. In order to qualify for entrance into the program the provider is required to either 1) belong to a groundwater replenishment district, 2) reduce groundwater pumping consistent with AWS Rules or 3) eliminate mined groundwater use by 2010.

Non-Residential Customer: A person who is supplied water by a municipal provider for a non-irrigation use other than a residential use.

Overdraft: A term signifying that more groundwater is being pumped than the amount of water naturally or incidentally recharged to the aquifer.

Overseeded Area: An area of land planted with a cool season grass species that grows over dormant warm season grasses during the fall/winter period.

Potential Claimant: All persons claiming water rights or on whose behalf claims to water rights are asserted.

Prior Decree: Any judgment or decree entered by a court of competent jurisdiction that applies to the water right claim or use that is subject to adjudication.

Prior Filing: A notice of appropriation recorded with the County Recorder or the Recorder's predecessor, a filed application to appropriate, a filed statement of claim or a filed claim of water right, any or all of which reasonably relate to the water right claim or use that is subject to adjudication.

Private Water Company (PWC): Any entity which distributes or sells groundwater, except a political subdivision or an entity that is established as a special taxing district. A special taxing districts is not regulated as a public service corporation by the ACC under a CCN. A city or town is not a private water company. This definition does not apply to the Santa Cruz AMA. In the Santa Cruz AMA, this definition is expanded to include water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well.

Public Utility: Any person, corporation, district, electric cooperative, public agency or political subdivision of the state that provides electrical service to the public by means of electric facilities or provides water for municipal, industrial, irrigation, recreation and fish and wildlife purposes to the public.

Public Waters: Waters of all sources flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, flood, waste or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface.

Reasonable Conservation Measures (RCM): Policies, practices, rules, regulations, ordinances or the use of devices, equipment, or facilities that are either an established and generally accepted practice of water conservation or a practice supported by sufficient data to indicate significant conservation or conservation-related benefits can be achieved in the NPCCP.

Residential Customer: A person who is supplied water by a municipal provider for a residential use.

Residential Use: A non-irrigation use of water related to the activities of a singe family or multifamily housing unit or units, including exterior water use.

Riparian Area: A geographical area that is characterized by deep-rooted plant species that occurs within or adjacent to a natural perennial or intermittent stream channel, lake, pond or marsh bed maintained primarily by natural water sources. Riparian area does not include areas in or adjacent to ephemeral stream channels, artificially created stockponds, man-made storage reservoirs constructed primarily for conservation or regulatory storage, municipal and industrial ponds or man-made water transportation, distribution, off-stream storage and collection systems.

River System and Source: All water appropriable as public waters and all water subject to claims based upon federal law.

Sand and Gravel Facility: A facility that produces sand and gravel and that uses more than 100 acre-feet of water from any source annually, regardless of the nature of the water use.

Safe-Yield: A water management goal which attempts to achieve and thereafter maintain a long-term balance between the annual amount of groundwater withdrawn in an AMA and the annual amount of natural and artificial recharge in the AMA.

Sanitary Sewer: Any pipe or other enclosed conduit that carries, among other substances, any water-carried wastes from residences, commercial buildings, industrial plants or institutions.

Service Area: For a city or town, the area of land actually being served water, for a non-irrigation use, plus additions which contain an operating distribution system owned by the city or town and the service area of a city, town or private water company that obtains its water from the city or town prior to an AMA’s designation. For a private water company, the area of land of the private water company actually being served water, for a non-irrigation use, by the private water company plus additions which contain an operating distribution system owned by the private water company primarily for a non-irrigation use.

Service Area Right: The right of a city, town, private water company and irrigation district to withdraw and deliver groundwater to its customers, subject to the AMA’s conservation requirements and the AWS rules.

Single-Pass Cooling and Heating: The use of water without recirculation to increase or decrease the temperature of equipment, a stored liquid, or a confined air space.

Small Municipal Provider: Municipal water providers serving 250 acre-feet or less of water for non-irrigation purposes annually. Some AMA's exclude untreated water from this definition.

Spillwater: Water, other than Colorado River water, released for beneficial use from storage, diversion or distribution facilities to avoid spilling that would otherwise occur due to uncontrolled surface water inflows that exceed facility capacity.

State Demonstration Project: A project for the storage of excess CAP water at an underground storage facility.

Stock Pond: An on-channel or off-channel impoundment of any size that stores water that is appropriable as pubic waters and that is for the sole purpose of watering livestock and wildlife, excluding ponds used primarily for fishing or the culturing of fish. The pond must have a capacity of not more than 15 acre feet.

Storage Capacity: The maximum volume of water that can be impounded by a reservoir when there is no discharge of water.

Storage Facility: A groundwater savings facility or an underground storage facility.

Stored Water: Water that is stored underground for the purpose of recovery pursuant to a underground water storage, savings and replenishment permit.

Subbasin: An area which may be designated so as to enclose a relatively hydrologically distinct body of groundwater within a groundwater basin, as described horizontally by surface description.

Subdivision: Improved or unimproved land(s) divided or proposed to be divided for the purpose of sale or lease, whether immediate or future, into six or more lots, parcels or fractional interests. Subdivisions by definition do not include leasehold offerings of one year or less or to the division or proposed division of land(s) into lots or parcels that are each 36 acres or more in area.

Subflow: Those waters which first slowly find their way through the sand and gravel constituting the bed of the stream, or the lands under or immediately adjacent to the stream, and are themselves a part of the surface stream.

Subsidence: The settling or lowering of the surface of land which results from the withdrawal of groundwater.

Surface Water: The waters of all sources, flowing in streams, canyons, ravines or other natural channels, or in definite underground channels, whether perennial or intermittent, floodwater, wastewater or surplus water, and of lakes, ponds and springs on the surface. For the purposes of administering this title, surface water is deemed to include Central Arizona Project water.

Tailings: The slurry of water and fine-grained waste rock material remaining after minerals have been removed in the mill concentrator and excess water has been recovered and returned to the mill concentrator.

Turf-Related Facility: Any facility, including cemeteries, golf courses, parks, schools, or common areas within housing developments, with a water-intensive landscape of at least 10 acres.

Type 1 Non-Irrigation Grandfathered Right: A non-irrigation grandfathered right associated with retired irrigated land. A Type 1 non-irrigation right generally allows a rightholder to either withdraw or receive no more than three acre-feet of groundwater per acre per year for a non-irrigation use on the retired land. Type 1 non-irrigation rights may not be transferred to another location, although groundwater pumped from appurtenant areas may be transported to a new location for non-irrigation uses subject to certain restrictions.

Type 2 Non-Irrigation Grandfathered Right: A non-irrigation ground right issued based on groundwater non-irrigation uses from 1975 to 1979. Generally, Type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered rights equal the maximum amount of groundwater withdrawn and used for non-irrigation purposes in any one of the five years preceding June 12, 1980. Type 2 non-irrigation grandfathered rights may be transferred to new locations within the same active management area through either a sale or lease.

Underground Storage Facility (USF): A constructed underground storage facility or a managed underground storage facility.

Untreated Water: Water that is not treated to improve its quality, and that is supplied by a municipal provider or irrigation district through a distribution system other than a potable water distribution system.

Wastewater: Water that is discharged after an industrial or municipal use, excluding effluent.

Water Banking Services: Services provided by the AWBA to persons and Indian communities in this state to facilitate the storage of water and stored water lending arrangements. Water banking services include only arrangements by which water will be made available for use in this state; obtaining water storage permits; accruing, exchanging and assigning long-term storage credits; and lending and obtaining repayment of long-term storage credits. Water banking services do not include interstate water banking undertaken by the Arizona Water Banking Authority (AWBA).

Water Banking Services Agreement: An agreement entered into between the AWBA and a person or Indian community in this state under which the AWBA will provide water banking services to that person or Indian community.

Water District: A special taxing district, within an AMA, that has adopted an ordinance or resolution to undertake water district groundwater replenishment obligations.

Water Duty Acres: The acres of land of a farm which are used in calculating the maximum amount of groundwater which may be used pursuant to an IGFR.

Water Exchange: A trade between one or more persons, or between one or more persons and one or more Indian communities, of any water for any other water, if each party has a right or claim to use the water it gives in exchange. This definition applies whether or not water is exchanged in equal amounts or other consideration is included in the exchange.

Water Exchange Contract: A valid written or oral contract for a water exchange.

Water Storage Permit: A permit to store water at a storage facility.

Water Use Efficiency: The physiological needs of the plants being watered divided by the amount of water actually applied, expressed as a percentage. Ex: 100 acre-feet needed/125 acre-feet used = 75% efficiency

Water-Intensive Landscaped Areas: An area of land that is watered with a permanent water application system and is primarily planted with plants that are not defined by ADWR as low water use/drought tolerant plants, plus the total surface water area of all bodies of water within the facility (excluding bodies of water used for swimming purposes).

Well: A man-made opening in the earth through which water may be withdrawn or obtained from beneath the surface of the earth, excluding oil, gas, helium, and geothermal wells.

* All definitions taken from the Arizona Revised Statutes and the Arizona Department of Water Resources’ Third Management Plans for the five Active Management Areas.

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