Under the new restrictions, that won't be possible. “Developers rely on groundwater because it has been frankly, cheaper and easier for them, and they have been able to move through the process much more quickly,” said Nicole Klobas, chief counsel for the Arizona Department of Water Resources. In rapidly growing Phoenix suburbs such as Queen Creek and Buckeye, developers have relied on unallocated groundwater to show that they had adequate water supplies for the next 100 years, which Arizona requires for building permits in some areas.
Long pumped by farmers and rural residents in Arizona with little oversight, Hobbs and other state officials recently vowed to take more steps to protect the state's groundwater supplies. But in rural areas, there are few limitations on its use.
Under a 1980 state law aimed at protecting the state’s aquifers, Phoenix, Tucson and other Arizona cities have restrictions on how much groundwater they can pump. The drought has made groundwater - held in underground aquifers that can take many years to be replenished - even more vital. A small amount of the city’s water supply comes from groundwater and recycled wastewater. Phoenix relies on imported Colorado River water and also uses water from the in-state Salt and Verde rivers.
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