State water officials have taken the first formal step toward regulating groundwater pumping in the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin, marking a major shift for La Paz County residents who have long warned that unregulated water use is threatening their communities. The Arizona Department of Water Resources announced it will begin procedures to consider creating a new Active Management Area, or AMA, in the western Arizona basin. The move follows years of local concern about land subsidence, dried wells, and groundwater depletion linked to corporate water use in rural parts of the county.

Other groundwater news:

• Havasu News (Ariz.): What’s going on with groundwater in La Paz County’s Ranegras Plain?
• Agri-Pulse: Groundwater trading sees interest — but markets remain mostly stalled