Gov. Hobbs, water agency move to regulate rural groundwater pumping [Video]

PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Water Resources have made the first move toward regulating the use of groundwater in the state’s rural southeast that is being rapidly being drawn down through agricultural use.

The state agency said Wednesday it will hold a public hearing Nov. 22 to present data and hear comments about the possibility of designating what is known as an “active management area” for the Willcox Groundwater Basin in Arizona’s Cochise and Graham counties.

In the meantime, the basin is closed to new agriculture use while the department decides whether to create the management area southeast of Tucson that would allow it to set goals for the well-being of the basin and its aquifers.

High rates of pumping can dry up wells and cause the ground to collapse, damaging roads and other property. According to a water resources department report, 26 wells in the basin that are regularly measured fell …