A new Arizona law signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs Monday is meant to increase the state’s housing supply while conserving groundwater.
The bill, SB1611, is known as "ag-to-urban." It lets housing developers buy groundwater rights from farmers in metro Phoenix and Pinal County who give up their agricultural land for homes.
Those homes would only use a fraction of the water the farms had used.
The bill is the result of years of bipartisan negotiations and considered a win-win by proponents.
Sen. T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) sponsored the bill and calls it the most consequential water legislation in decades.
But the bill had to overcome some bipartisan opposition. Some lawmakers still lamented the fact that the Legislature couldn’t come together on other issues, like rural groundwater conservation.
“We have once again failed to provide any legislative relief this session to address the current acute water security crisis faced by our rural communities,” Rep. Chris Mathis (D-Tucson) said last week.
In January, Hobbs produced a rural groundwater management plan, but it didn’t advance at the GOP-controlled Legislature.
"I am proud to have brokered a bipartisan, historic water deal that will save millions of acre-feet of water, help lower the cost of housing, and create jobs. Arizona has long led the country in water management, and today we have shown that we will continue this legacy of addressing our most pressing challenges. But we aren’t done taking action. I will continue fighting to protect groundwater in rural Arizona so every community throughout our state will know they have the tools they need to secure their water future,” Hobbs said in a statement on Monday.
The bill was prompted by a moratorium Hobbs set on new housing construction in the Phoenix suburbs due to low groundwater levels. This legislation would give developers a new pathway to build homes in those restricted areas.
Hobbs said in a statement that the legislation could create tens of thousands of new homes and conserve up to 10 million acre-feet of water - but the program is voluntary for farmers, so there’s no telling what the real impact will be.
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