assured water supply; certificate; model.

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included provisions that were not supported by the official source material provided. The bill summary text does not provide details on amending section 45-132 of Arizona Revised Statutes as stated in the candidate explanation.

Water Supply Certificates and Models

This bill requires ADWR to review applications for water supply certificates in certain areas under specific conditions and outlines criteria for issuing these certificates.

What This Bill Does

• Requires ADWR to review the merits of an application for a certificate of assured water supply if it meets specific criteria, including being submitted after January 26, 2021, but before August 31, 2023, and not having received a certificate by then.
• Specifies that municipal providers must offer long-term storage credits to CAGRD based on excess groundwater delivered in the previous year.
• Requires ADWR to determine if applications using certain models meet physical availability requirements for groundwater.
• Allows applicants who meet specific criteria to request a review of their pending or withdrawn applications by ADWR within 10 days after the bill's effective date.

Who It Names or Affects

• Applicants seeking a certificate of assured water supply in the Phoenix Active Management Area.
• Municipal providers who must offer long-term storage credits based on excess groundwater delivered.
• The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) which is required to review applications and issue certificates under specific conditions.

Terms To Know

Certificate of Assured Water Supply

A document issued by ADWR confirming that sufficient water will be available for a proposed use over at least 100 years, consistent with management goals and financial capability to construct necessary facilities.

Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD)

An organization responsible for managing groundwater resources in the Phoenix Active Management Area.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify an effective date, so it is unclear when these requirements will take effect.
• It is not clear how many applications will meet the criteria and require review by ADWR.

Official Summary Text

SB1200 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
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COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1200

assured water supply;
certificate; model

Purpose

An emergency
measure that requires the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) to
review the merits of a certificate of assured water supply and issue a new
written determination of action if prescribed conditions apply and using
outlined models as criteria. Requires a certificate of assured water supply
issued pursuant to outlined requirements to relate back as if issued in
calendar year 2023 for the purposes of an application for designation of
assured water supply under outlined rules adopted by ADWR.

Background

A person who
proposes to offer subdivided lands for sale or lease in an active management
area (AMA) must apply for and obtain a certificate of assured water supply from
the Director of ADWR before presenting the plat for approval to the city, town
or county in which the land is located and before filing with the State Real
Estate Commissioner a notice of intention to offer such lands for sale or
lease, unless the subdivider has obtained a written commitment of water service
for the subdivision from a designated provider. A city, town or county may only
approve a subdivision plat if the subdivider has obtained a certificate of
assured water supply from the Director of ADWR or the subdivider has obtained a
written commitment of water supply from a designated provider.

An
assured
water supply
means that: 1) sufficient groundwater, surface water or
effluent of adequate quality will be continuously available to satisfy the
water needs of the proposed use for at least 100 years; 2) the projected
groundwater use is consistent with the management plan and achievement of the
management goal for the AMA; and 3) the financial capability has been
demonstrated to construct the water facilities necessary to make the supply of
water available for the proposed use, including a delivery system and any
storage facilities or treatment works (
A.R.S.
� 45-576
).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state
General Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1.

Requires
ADWR, on request of an applicant, to review the merits of an application for a
certificate of assured water supply and issue a new written determination of
action if:

a)

the
application is for a certificate of assured water supply for land located in
the Phoenix AMA;

b)

the
application was submitted on or after January 26, 2021, and by August 31, 2023;

c)

ADWR
has not issued a certificate of assured water supply; and

d)

the
municipal provider for the land covered by the application has submitted to
ADWR a notice of intent to serve.

2.

Requires
the outlined notice of intent to serve to state that:

a)

each
year after the issuance of the certificate of assured water supply for the land
covered by the application, the municipal provider must calculate the total
amount of excess groundwater delivered by the municipal provider during the
preceding calendar year to parcels of member land contained within the land
covered by the application;

b)

the
municipal provider, by March 31 of each year after the issuance of the
certificate of assured water supply for the land covered by an application,
must offer to assign to the multi-county water conservation district long-term
storage credits accrued in the Phoenix AMA and held by the municipal provider;

c)

the
number of long-term storage credits offered by the municipal provider in a year
must equal 25 percent of the total excess groundwater calculated by the
municipal provider for the preceding calendar year;

d)

the
Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) may elect to
purchase all, or a portion of the long-term storage credits offered in a year
and the municipal provider must accept a purchase price per acre foot of not
less than the average per-acre-foot price paid by CAGRD for long-term storage
credits in the Phoenix AMA during the preceding five calendar years; and

e)

the
obligation to assign long-term storage credits must continue for so long as the
parcels of member land contained within the land covered by the certificate of
assured water supply retain all or any portion of a parcel replenishment
obligation.

3.

Requires, if a municipal provider enters into a member service area
agreement with CAGRD, the minimum amount of excess groundwater that the
municipal provider is obligated to report to CAGRD in a year and that is
subject to an annual replenishment tax to be reduced by the long-term storage
credits transferred to CAGRD by the municipal provider in that year.

4.

Prohibits CAGRD's purchase of long-term storage credits that are offered
by a municipal provider from affecting the annual replenishment assessment
charged by CAGRD against parcels of member land contained within the land
covered by a certificate of assured water supply.

5.

Requires ADWR, if an application for a certificate of assured water
supply reviewed by ADWR was supported using either the 2006-2009 Salt River
Valley Regional Model or the 2006 Lower Hassayampa Sub-Basin Groundwater Flow
Model, to determine that the application meets the physical availability
requirements for groundwater.

6.

Requires all remaining requirements for a certificate of assured water
supply to remain applicable to the determination to issue the certificate of
assured water supply.

7.

Requires ADWR, within 10 days after the effective date of this
legislation, to notify all applicants that meet the outlined criteria of the
ability to have determinations of assured water supply reviewed.

8.

Allows applicants to request that ADWR review their pending
applications.

9.

Allows applicants to resubmit and request review of a withdrawn
application.

10.

Requires a
certificate of assured water supply issued pursuant to outlined requirements to
relate back as if issued in calendar year 2023 for the purposes of an
application for designation of assured water supply under rules adopted by ADWR
for inclusion in the base supply of physically available groundwater for the
municipal provider on issuance of the designation of assured water supply.

11.

Repeals the
outlined requirements relating to certificates of assured water supply on
January 1, 2029.

12.

Becomes
effective on signature of the Governor, if the emergency clause is enacted.

Prepared by Senate Research

January 30, 2026

SB/hk

Current Bill Text

SB1200 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed
Senate Bill

assured
water supply; certificate; model.

(now: bodies of
water; effluent; landscaping)

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SENATE BILL 1200

AN
ACT

amending
section 45-132, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to bodies of water.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 45-132, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
45-132.

Filling large bodies of water for landscape or recreational
purposes prohibited; exceptions; preemption

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this
section, in an active management area established under chapter 2 of this
title, a person shall not use any water for the purpose of filling or refilling
all or a portion of a body of water.

B. This section does not apply to a body of water if
any of the following applies:

1. The body of water was filled before January 1,
1987. If the surface area of the body of water is increased on or
after January 1, 1987, this exception does not apply to the quantity of water
that is added.

2. The director has determined that substantial
capital investment has been made in the physical on-site construction of the
body of water before January 1, 1987. If the surface area of the body of water
is increased after it is initially filled, this exception does not apply to the
quantity of water that is added.

3. The body of water is located in a recreational
facility that is open to the public and
that
is
owned or operated by the United States, this state, a city,
town or county, a flood control district established under title 48, chapter 21
or a multi-county water conservation district established under title 48,
chapter 22.

4. The body of water is filled and refilled
exclusively with any one or any combination of the following:

(a) Effluent
only if the body of
water was CONSTRUCTED or SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL investment was made TOWARD
CONSTRUCTION of the body of water before December 31, 2030
.

(b) Storm water runoff that is not subject to
appropriation under section 45-141.

(c) Poor quality water used pursuant to a permit
issued under subsections
C and
D
and e
of
this section.

(d) Groundwater withdrawn pursuant to a drainage
water withdrawal permit issued under section 45-519.

(e) Groundwater withdrawn in the first year of a
temporary dewatering permit issued under section 45-518.

(f) Groundwater withdrawn as part of a remedial
action under title 49, chapter 2, article 5, including mitigation of a
nonhazardous release undertaken pursuant to an order issued by the department
of environmental quality pursuant to section 49-286.

(g) Water used pursuant to a permit for interim
water use issued under section 45-133.

(h) Surface water except central Arizona project
water that, as determined by the director, physically occurs at such times, in
such quantities or under such other circumstances that it cannot be physically
captured and beneficially used by any other holder of an appropriative right.

5. The body of water is an integral part of a golf
course that complies with any applicable conservation requirements in the
management plan for the active management area adopted under chapter 2, article
9 of this title.

6. The body of water is unsealed and is an integral
part of an underground storage facility for which the director has issued a
permit under chapter 3.1 of this title.

7. The body of water is a swimming pool that is
owned and operated by a hotel, motel, country club or resort and
that
has a surface area equal to or less than forty-three
thousand five hundred sixty square feet. If a hotel, motel, country club or
resort has more than one swimming pool, only one of those swimming pools may
have a surface area greater than twelve thousand three hundred twenty square
feet.

C. For
a body of
water that
was constructed before January 1, 2026 in an
active management area
PURSUANT to subsection B,
PARAGRAPH 4, SUBDIVISION (
a
) of this section and that
was used to convey noneffluent for landscape or RECREATIONAL PURPOSES
between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2026, a person may use the body of water as
a conduit for TRANSPORTING ANOTHER type of water for
landscape
or
recreational purposes
off the
body of water by
commingling the effluent with the water
that the person uses for
landscape or
recreational purposes�
off the body of water if
the owner or operator of the body Of water does all of the following:

1. Using measuring devices that are
APPROVED by the director:

(
a
) measures
the volume of water
by type of water that is delivered to
and withdrawn from the body of water for
landscape or
recreational PURPOSES in
each calendar year.

(
b
) measures
the total volume of effluent that is delivered to the body of water in
each calendar year.

2. adds a volume of effluent to the
body of water each
calendar year that is equal to or
greater than
the amount that is
lost
to seepage and evaporation from the body of water.� The amount lost to seepage
and evaporation shall be determined by SUBTRACTING the amount of water that is
withdrawn for
landscape or
recreational
purposes from the total amount of water delivered to the body of water in the
calendar year. �
The amount of noneffluent delivered to
the body of water may not exceed the total volume withdrawn from the body of
water for landscape or recreational purposes. except as allowed pursuant to
section 45-468 or any other law, The effluent must be delivered to the
end user before commingling with any other type of water.

3. on or before March 31 of
each year, reports
both of the following to the
director:

(
a
) the volume
of water that the person delivered to the body of water in the
preceding calendar year
by type of water.

(
b
)
the volume of water that the person withdrew from the body of water
for
landscape or
recreational
purposes in the
preceding calendar year.

4. On or before January 1, 2028,
provides documentation to the director that the body of water was used to
convey noneffluent for landscape or recreational purposes between June 30, 2023
and June 30, 2026.� The documentation must contain all of the following:

(
a
) annual
reports that the owner or operator previously filed with the director.

(
b
) a report
that is affixed with a seal by a registered civil engineer, that describes the
distribution system of the body of water and that includes a map and narrative
description of the source of the water and the location and type of use of the
water.

(
c
) an
affidavit of an owner of the body of water that affirms compliance with this
subsection.

C.

D.
A
person who seeks to use poor quality groundwater to fill or refill all or a
portion of a body of water shall apply to the director for a permit to use the
groundwater for that purpose. The director may issue a permit if the applicant
demonstrates that all of the following apply:

1. The applicant otherwise has a right to use the
proposed source of groundwater for the proposed purpose.

2. The groundwater
because of its poor quality cannot be used for another beneficial purpose at
the present time and it is not economically feasible to treat and transport the
groundwater and use it for another beneficial purpose.

3. The withdrawal of the groundwater is consistent
with the management plan and achievement of the management goal for the active
management area.

D.

e.
A
permit issued pursuant to subsection
C
d
of this section may be issued for a period of up to
thirty-five years. The director shall determine the duration of the permit on
the basis of the estimated life of the source of poor quality groundwater and
the potential for future beneficial use. The director shall monitor
the use of groundwater pursuant to the permit and shall terminate the permit if
any of the conditions for issuance of the permit no longer
applies. A permit may be renewed subject to the same criteria used
in granting the original permit.

f. Unless AUTHORIZED pursuant to
section 45-133, subsection c of this section does not allow the use of
groundwater for either of the following purposes:

1. to provide the initial fill of a
body of water.

2. to meet seepage or evaporative
loss of a body of water.

E.

g.
This section preempts all municipal and county
laws, charters, ordinances, rules and regulations relating to the use of any
water to fill or refill all or a portion of a body of water, except that this
section does not preempt a law, charter, ordinance, rule or regulation that has
previously been adopted, passed or enacted or is subsequently adopted, passed
or enacted if the law, charter, ordinance, rule or regulation is more
restrictive than this section.
END_STATUTE