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Arizona Department of Water Resources, Legal Division, RG 142 SG 1, 1970-1981

RG 142 SG 1

Historical Note

The Groundwater Management Act of 1980 created the Arizona Department of Water Resources to administer and enforces Arizona's groundwater code and surface water rights laws, to oversee and protect Arizona's Colorado River supply, to oversee the use of surface and groundwater resources under state jurisdiction, and to represent the state in water rights discussions with the federal government. Prior to 1980, the State Land Department Water Rights Division determined rights to public water, issued certificates of public water rights, conducted determinations of conflict in public water rights, controlled drilling of water wells in critical groundwater areas, maintained information files of all groundwater wells in the state and assisted the State Land Commissioner in authorizing the sale at public auction of indirect uses of groundwater on state trust lands. In 1979, the Water Rights Division of the State Land Department transferred to the Arizona Water Commission until 1980 Groundwater Management Act centralized all water planning and regulation under Water Resources.

In 1976 the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in Farmers Investment Company (FICO) vs. Bettwy that groundwater could not be used off the land from which it was pumped if other users of the same aquifer were injured by the transfer. This decision, which threatened the water supplies for the City of Tucson as well as some mining companies, spurred the State Legislature to modify Arizona’s groundwater laws. In May 1977 Governor Raul Castro signed Senate Bill 1391 into law. Senate Bill 1391, also known as the Groundwater Transfer Act, addressed the transfer and distribution of Arizona’s groundwater resources in light of FICO vs. Bettwy. The law established that persons or entities wishing to transfer groundwater from critical groundwater areas file for a certificate of exemption from the State Land Department. Senate Bill 1391 also provided that the State Land Department hold hearings regarding the issuing of certificates if proper written objections to the transfer were received and preserved the right of any persons to recover damages when the transfers impaired or damaged their groundwater supply.

Sources: Arizona State Land Department, Arizona State Land Department Annual Report, 1974/1975, (Phoenix, AZ., 1975), 24.

Committee on Western Water Management, National Research Council. Water Transfers in the West: Efficiency, Equity, and the Environment. Washington D.C.: National Research Council, 1992, p. 201.

Scope and Content Note

This collection of 14 boxes consists of files transferred by the Legal Division of the Department of Water Resources. The files are arranged in three different series:

Series One contains files relating to general water rights matters and water adjudication cases. It includes an application to appropriate water from the Sierra Blanca draw, water rights orders and records transferred to the Superior Courts in matters of conflicting water rights, files about Arizona water companies and a list of closed water cases. Series Two deals with groundwater affected by the passage of SB 1391 and makes up the bulk of the collection. The first subseries has correspondence and memorandum regarding critical groundwater areas in transfer areas. Subseries Two contains administrative files related to SB 1391 and files that pertained to all applicants for Certificate of Exemptions (COE). The third subseries consists of fourteen Certificate of Exemption (COE) applications for groundwater transfers. The Anamax application was not transferred but a series of applicant exhibits was included in this accession. The State Land Department granted thirteen COEs. The last application for the Roosevelt Irrigation District was filed in 1980 but the application process did not appear to have been completed, possibly because of the passage of the 1980 Groundwater Management Act. In cases where the COEs were challenged in courts, the additional court paperwork and files are included with the application. The annual reports that the State Land Department required COE applicants to file are in Subseries Four. Series Four has University of Arizona crop survey reports.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

All photocopies of original materials are made by staff. We reserve the right to refuse copy services based on physical condition and possible damage to the materials.

For preservation purposes, if microfilm copies are available, patrons will use the microfilm first.

Under Arizona Revised Statute 39-141, public records used for commercial purposes have additional requirements. Please contact the Arizona State Archives for further information.

Copyright

It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine the copyright status of materials he or she uses. The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records is not legally or financially responsible for any copyright infringement by researchers.

Many documents held by the Arizona State Archives come under the Public Record law (ARS 41-1350). Documents created by the government are not copyrighted. The United States of America Copyright Law (P.L. 94-553, effective Jan. 1, 1978) extends statutory rights of authority to unpublished works which were previously protected by literary property rights under common law. Such works do not have to be registered with the Copyright Office to receive protection under the law.

Related Material

For additional materials in the Arizona State Archives please consult the following collections: Office of the Governor (RG 1), the Groundwater Study Management Commission (RG 48), and the Arizona State Land Department (RG 59).

Access Terms

Accession Number

A-2003-98.

Administrative Information

Custodial History

The Department of Water Resources transferred these files to the State Archives in 2003.

Credit Line

Bibliographic citations must cite the title of the record group(s), the box or volume number, the History and Archives Division and the name of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records in full. Please use the following example:

Governor George W.P. Hunt to Ely Sims, November 21, 1919, Box 14, Office of the Governor, RG 1, History and Archives Division, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

Processing Information

When the State Archives received this collection most of the files were not in any particular order. For example, some Certificate of Exemption application files were spread out between several boxes. Staff retained the file names during re-foldering as well as the order of the folder content. In cases where folder grouping appeared intentional the grouping was kept intact. The collection also had many copies of applications and hearings. Archives staff reviewed the copies for any alterations and discarded those without any additional notation. Staff discarded approximately three and a half cubic feet of copies.

There was one box of loose materials. All of the records were labeled as being part of a City of Tucson application except for a crop report. This item was included with the City of Tucson files.

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