PHOENIX — New recent court rulings could open the door for more housing to be built in high-demand areas at the edge of the Valley, despite state concerns over long-term groundwater reliance.
Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney struck down a rule by the Arizona Department of Water Resources that provides a path for developers to gain the necessary 100-year groundwater assurance designation to build in otherwise unattainable areas.
Under the Alternative Path to Designation of Assured Water Supply rules, developers in those areas must provide additional water to offset their groundwater usage.
Holtzman Vogel Partner Andrew Gould, representing the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona, said the ruling helps developers build in high-demand areas at the edge of the Valley without the added regulations and costs for consumers.
“Opens up development now in Buckeye or down in Queen Creek; they don’t have the restrictions that were imposed by these rules, and they don’t have to pay the extra cost,” Gould said. “You have to take into account not just conservation, but you have to take into account stakeholders like the home builders, and you have to be practical and think also what home buyers and affordability are facing here in the valley.”
This also comes after another ruling by the same judge in April, which said the state’s water department did not have the authority to expand the 100-year assured groundwater requirement beyond the project boundaries to the entire Active Management Area.
“If you don’t have the authority to write it, you’re not allowed to do that under separation of powers,” Gould said.
Arizona in 2023 paused development in areas of metro Phoenix where groundwater is the only water source after a Department of Water Resources study showed groundwater in metro Phoenix will be 4% short of demand over the next 100 years under current conditions.
Kyl Center for Water Policy Director Sarah Porter said both regulations helped make sure that water comes before growth.
“Groundwater has to be managed as a non-renewable resource, a non-renewing water supply,” Porter said. “This way of making sure of water before growth is no longer available, so puts at risk not so much the individual well owner on the outskirts of town, what it puts at risk is the groundwater that cities have been counting on as their backup supply.”
Porter said as concerns over water insecurity grow across the state, municipalities should continue to look at alternative, renewable sources, including reclaimed water.
Governor Katie Hobbs’ office released the following statement after the ruling:
“Today, the Superior Court issued an order that threatens to shut down housing development and increase housing prices, harms our water security and gets Arizona’s law wrong. While the judgment is not yet final, this order concludes that the voluntary ADAWS program conflicts with statute based on a misreading of both the applicable statutes and the ADAWS rule itself. The ADAWS program is designed to permit responsible growth while protecting our precious groundwater resources.
This program restarted responsible development in Pinal County that had been at a standstill for nearly a decade. Apparently, that achievement was not enough for the plaintiffs who appear to be seeking groundwater pumping without limits.
It may be some time before this ruling is final, but ADWR will appeal.
In the meantime, the State will continue to facilitate responsible, affordable development while protecting Arizona’s best-in-the-nation protections that secure our water future and home values for existing homeowners.”
