How water rights work in Arizona

Administered by Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) · sources checked October 8, 2026

Surface water
Prior appropriation under the 1919 Public Water Code
Groundwater
Governed by the 1980 Groundwater Code
Active Management Areas
Eight, including Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott
Administering agency
ADWR, created by the 1980 code

Arizona isn't on the map yet. Surface-water filings and well registrations sit in two separate ADWR systems that mean different things, and most groundwater use is not a right in the appropriative sense.

Two codes, two kinds of water

Arizona's surface water code, enacted June 12, 1919 and now called the Public Water Code, follows prior appropriation. Users apply for a permit and then a certificate, and beneficial use is the basis and limit of the right.

Groundwater is handled separately under the 1980 Groundwater Code, which created ADWR. Areas that rely heavily on mined groundwater are regulated as Active Management Areas: Prescott, Phoenix, Pinal, Tucson, Santa Cruz, Douglas, Willcox and Ranegras Plain.

Why Arizona isn't on the map yet

Surface water filings and well registrations come from two separate ADWR systems that mean different things. Most groundwater use isn't a "right" in the appropriative sense, so plotting both on one map as if they were the same would mislead.

Sources

A plain-language summary, not legal advice. Rules change; the agency and a water-rights attorney are the people to ask about a specific right.