Arizona approves ‘Ag-to-Urban’ water conservation plan
In a bipartisan compromise between state lawmakers and the executive branch, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs approved a program estimated to conserve nearly 10 million acre-feet of water and facilitate thousands of new housing developments across central Arizona. State Senator T.J. Shope’s Senate Bill 1611 met Hobbs’ pen Monday morning, setting in motion what state officials refer to as the “Ag-to-Urban” plan. … Under the program, farmers in either of the active management areas would voluntarily relinquish groundwater rights on individual acres of land irrigated by groundwater in three of the previous five years. In exchange, a farmer would receive conservation credits based on the number of acres relinquished. The farmer would then sell the acres to land developers, who would “pledge” the credits to a water provider that services that land.
Related articles:
- KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.): Hobbs signs bipartisan ‘ag-to-urban’ water law, but rural conservation deal remains elusive
- Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Hobbs signs law aimed at saving water by turning farms into homes
- Audubon: Blog: Audubon applauds bipartisan water solution for Arizona’s urban areas
