At the beginning of the year, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs introduced a plan to conserve shrinking rural groundwater supplies. But that, and similar efforts, died in the GOP-controlled Legislature. In rural areas of the state, many communities rely on dwindling groundwater supplies where there are no restrictions on water pumping. Rural Republicans stood with Hobbs in January when she announced her plan to address the problem by creating rural management areas around endangered groundwater basins where pumping would be restricted. But it didn’t get consideration by legislative Republicans. Hobbs said Tuesday she hasn’t given up. “We made progress and we’ve clearly shown the support for this kind of legislation exists across the state and that rural Arizonans want something done and we’ll continue to find a way to get that done,” she said.

Other Arizona water law news:

• Casa Grande Dispatch (Ariz.): Many in Pinal welcome ‘ag-to-urban,’ with some concerns
• Arizona PBS (Phoenix): Video: Agriculture to Urban bill​