PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         January 12, 2026

ADWR DIRECTOR FINDS CAUSE FOR RANEGRAS PLAIN GROUNDWATER BASIN TO BECOME ARIZONA’S 8TH ACTIVE MANAGEMENT AREA

PHOENIX – The Director of Arizona Department of Water Resources, Tom Buschatzke, on Friday, January 9, issued his Findings, Decision and Order to designate the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin as a subsequent Active Management Area (AMA).

As a result of the decision, the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin AMA becomes the eighth Arizona AMA and the third to be designated since 2022.

The Department first identified the Ranegras Plain Groundwater Basin as a basin experiencing significant groundwater level declines at the Governor’s Water Policy Council (GWPC) Rural Groundwater Management Committee meeting held on August 17, 2023.

ADWR held an informational public meeting on October 15, 2025, where ADWR staff presented hydrologic and regulatory information, and answered questions from residents and stakeholders. The Department later released a technical memorandum describing the hydrologic information on file regarding the basin and then held a statutorily-required formal hearing, on December 18, 2025.

As part of the formal hearing, the Department received over 400 oral and written comments. The vast majority supported designating the Ranegras Plain AMA.

“The future of residents and businesses depends upon protecting the finite groundwater resources in the Ranegras Plain basin. This is a critical step in achieving that outcome,” said Director Buschatzke.

Water users in the Ranegras Plain Basin rely on groundwater as the sole source for their agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential water uses.

Groundwater pumping in the basin has increased significantly since 2015, with annual withdrawals now exceeding inflows by more than 900 percent. As a result of the substantial overdraft on the aquifer, groundwater level declines of over 200 feet have been observed since the 1980s.  Those pronounced declines have led to significant land subsidence in the basin, the rate of which has been increasing year over year.

One well showed a decline of 242 feet over the last 40 years. These declines and associated subsidence jeopardize wells and groundwater storage in the Basin.

AMAs institute mandatory metering/measurement and reporting requirements for non-exempt groundwater use. Reliable water use data benefits all water users in the basin, improving decision-making and water management, and encouraging transparency. AMAs formalize and quantify groundwater water rights and withdrawal authorities, giving groundwater users certainty and security. 

AMAs are required to institute a Management Goal and Management Plans for the basin, developed and adopted with local input. Management Plans come with mandatory conservation requirements and other measures to implement the Goal. 

The Department will send additional information to stakeholders and residents of the basin over the coming weeks.

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For further information, contact:

ADWR: Shauna Evans, Public Information Officer | 602-771-8079 | smevans@azwater.gov

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