New water law helps conservation work for all Arizonans
Governor Ducey recently
signed important legislation that updates how Arizona’s longstanding “use it or lose it” water policy is applied. That’s good news for Arizonans, our economy and the environment. Under the new law, HB2056, water right holders such as ranchers and farmers can intentionally and voluntarily leave their water in a stream without fear of losing their water rights through forfeiture or abandonment. While that may sound commonsense, it’s a significant shift in how our state has approached water rights.
Kim Mitchell
This new law helps clarify longstanding and complex issues around water use in Arizona. Arizona’s forfeiture law provides that in some cases a surface water right may be forfeited after five years of non-use. There has been uncertainty about how and when this law applies, creating risks or in some cases perceived risk that a surface water user choosing to conserve water may forfeit