Overview
- Arizona’s Department of Water Resources designated the Ranegras Plain an Active Management Area on Jan. 9, and Gov. Katie Hobbs announced it on Jan. 12, making it the state’s eighth AMA.
- High‑capacity wells must measure and report use, any new or deepened non‑exempt wells need impact analyses, exempt domestic wells under 35 gallons per minute are unaffected, and a local advisory council will guide conservation plans.
- Irrigation expansion is prohibited, with rights grandfathered only on land farmed within the past five years unless owners prove substantial capital investment to re‑irrigate fallowed fields.
- State data estimate roughly 40,000 acre‑feet of annual agricultural pumping versus about 2,000 acre‑feet of recharge, with more than 200 feet of decline in some wells and reported land subsidence.
- Fondomonte, described as the area’s largest water user, will be subject to the new rules as Attorney General Kris Mayes’ public‑nuisance lawsuit proceeds, and the state says most of 400‑plus public comments supported the designation.