The Hydrology division of the Arizona Department of Water Resources has published its research into water-supply conditions of a vast area of western Arizona known as the “Western Planning Areas.”
The Western Planning Area Hydrologic Monitoring Report summarizes water-level monitoring of the depth-to-groundwater within wells located throughout much of western Arizona as of December 2016. Hydrologic Monitoring Reports are used to provide the public with important information on conditions both within and outside Arizona’s Active Management Areas, or AMAs.
To the extent possible, given the available information, these reports present surface water, groundwater, water-use, precipitation, recharge, and well information that has been compiled or developed by ADWR.
AMAs are the five regions of the State where the uses of finite groundwater resources are governed by the Groundwater Management Act of 1980. The September 2020 report provides detailed analysis from five western Arizona groundwater basins: Butler Valley, Harquahala, McMullen Valley, Ranegras Plain, and Tiger Wash basins. Among the findings: Water levels are generally declining across the five basins and larger declines are seen where there is a large farming presence.
Groundwater levels in the five basins were collected extensively in November through December 2004 and December 2016. Water levels collected during these two time periods – technically, water years 2005 and 2017 — were then compared in order to observe water-level changes.
Click the article for more info. It’s been super dry since early Spring, and we’re anxiously awaiting some real rain.