45-494. Withdrawals by irrigation districts in initial active management areas

In an initial active management area established pursuant to section 45-411:

1. An irrigation district existing and engaged in the withdrawal, delivery and distribution of groundwater as of January 1, 1977 shall have the right, subject to section 45-496 and section 45-493, subsection D:

(a) To withdraw and transport groundwater within its service area for the benefit of landowners within its service area, and the landowners are entitled to use the groundwater delivered, provided claims of landowners to irrigation grandfathered rights or type 1 or 2 non-irrigation grandfathered rights shall be subject to article 5 of this chapter.

(b) If legally withdrawing and transporting groundwater from outside its service area for use within its service area as of January 1, 1977, to continue to withdraw and transport the amount of groundwater legally being withdrawn as of January 1, 1977.

2. An irrigation district that was not engaged in the withdrawal, delivery and distribution of groundwater as of January 1, 1977 shall be limited to the right, subject to section 45-496, to:

(a) Contract for surface water from a multi-county water conservation district and deliver and distribute such water within its service area for irrigation purposes.

(b) If, as of January 1, 1983, the district had been recommended by the director to receive an allocation of municipal and industrial water from the central Arizona project, contract for surface water from a multi-county water conservation district and deliver such surface water to cities, towns or private water companies for municipal, industrial and domestic purposes, subject to the following conditions:

(i) The cities, towns and private water companies shall distribute the water within the boundaries of the district in effect as of the date of validation of the district's central Arizona project subcontract.

(ii) In contracting for the delivery of such surface water, the district shall offer the water, first, to cities and towns that distribute water to land within the boundaries of the district or to land adjacent or contiguous to the district and, second, if the cities or towns are unwilling or unable to take and distribute such surface water, to private water companies within the boundaries of the district that have not been recommended to receive or have not received an allocation of municipal and industrial water from the central Arizona project.

(iii) Notwithstanding article 5 of this chapter, the original owner and any new owner of a type 1 non-irrigation grandfathered right created pursuant to section 45-469 that is appurtenant to land in the district to which such surface water is distributed by a city, town or private water company may use groundwater withdrawn pursuant to that right only on the land to which the right is appurtenant.

(iv) The district may amend its contract, or execute a new contract, with the United States secretary of the interior and a multi-county water conservation district to provide for the conversion of irrigation water deliveries to municipal and industrial water deliveries as provided by law and pursuant to the secretary's regulations relating to conversion, but such amendment may be made or new contract executed only if the amount of municipal and industrial water for which the district would qualify by conversion of lands from irrigation to non-irrigation uses exceeds the secretary's initial express allocation of municipal and industrial water to the district for the year 2034 and only to the extent of the excess.

(v) Such surface water shall not be distributed by any city, town or private water company to any land with respect to which an allocation of municipal and industrial water from the central Arizona project has been made or recommended for some person other than the district.

(c) Contract to purchase, deliver and distribute effluent within its service area for irrigation purposes.

(d) Withdraw, deliver and distribute within its service area the amount of groundwater allowed by the current irrigation water duty of each member farm multiplied by the water duty acres in that farm less any portion of such amount withdrawn by individual members.

(e) Continue but not expand any non-irrigation water service being lawfully provided as of the date of the designation of the active management area, except as provided in subdivision (b) of this paragraph and in section 45-497, subsection B.