Ariz. Rev. Stat. » Title 45
Arizona Revised Statutes

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 45-451 (2026)

Groundwater rights and uses in active management areas

✓ current as of May 2026
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A. In an active management area, a person may:

1. Withdraw and use groundwater only in accordance with the provisions of articles 5 through 12 of this chapter.

2. Store water in a storage facility, as defined in section 45-802.01, only in accordance with chapter 3.1 of this title.

B. This chapter shall not be construed to affect decreed and appropriative water rights. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect the definition of surface water in section 45-101 and the definition of water subject to appropriation in section 45-141 or the provisions of article 9 of chapter 1 of this title.

C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, solely in the Santa Cruz active management area:

1. The withdrawal of water, other than stored water, from a well and the distribution and use of water, other than stored water, withdrawn from a well shall be subject to any applicable conservation requirements established by the director in the management plans for the active management area pursuant to article 9 of this chapter.

2. The withdrawal of water from a well shall be subject to any applicable well location requirements contained in article 10 of this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: Strawberry Water Co. v. Paulsen, 207 P.3d 654 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2008).
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Strawberry Water Co. v. Paulsen, 207 P.3d 654 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “17, § 2 (emphasis added). Surface water "belong[s] to the public” and is "subject to appropriation and beneficial use.”
Arizona Pub. Serv. Co. v. Long, 773 P.2d 988 (Ariz. 1989). · cites it 4× “In this regard, I note that A.R.S. § 45-451(B) expressly provides: "This chapter [groundwater code] shall not be construed to affect decreed and appropriative water rights [surface water rights].”
Davis v. Agua Sierra Resources, L.L.C., 203 P.3d 506 (Ariz. 2009). · cites it 2× “The GMA, however, does govern the withdrawal of groundwater on land outside an AMA if the water is to be transported to an established AMA.”
TDB Tucson Grp., L.L.C. v. City of Tucson, 263 P.3d 669 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011). “§ 45-451 (A)(I). Each AMA was required to adopt a conservation management plan.”
Davis v. Agua Sierra Resources, L.L.C., 174 P.3d 298 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “2d at 564 ; A.R.S. §§ 45-451, -453. Because, as noted above, the record does not disclose that Agua Sierra is claiming appropriable water, the language in Gila River I is irrelevant to the validity of its commercial water rights reservation.”
Seven Springs Ranch, Inc. v. State Ex Rel. Arizona Dep't of Water Resources, 753 P.2d 161 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “A.R.S. § 45-451. The ranchers cannot require nor will the courts permit a designation of boundaries for basins and sub-basins that do not meet the statutory definitions of those terms provided by the legislature in A.”
In re Gen. Adjudication of all Rights to use Water in the Gila River Sys. & Source, 289 P.3d 936 (Ariz. 2012). · cites it 2× “A.R.S. § 45-451 et seq. (2012). The right to use surface water and sub-flow is governed by the doctrine of prior appropriation, §§ 45-141, -251(7), meaning the first to divert water and put it to beneficial use has priority against later diverters, § 45-151.”
Aikins v. Arizona Dep't of Water Resources, 743 P.2d 946 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “A.R.S. § 45-451. In the INAs, the principal control is an absolute ban on increased irrigation.”
Ctr. for Biological v. Hobbs (Ariz. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “Compare A.R.S. § 45-451, with A.R.S. § 45-453. The Legislature allowed the Department to designate additional areas for active management if it determined (1) “[a]ctive management practices are necessary to preserve the existing 2 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL v.”
Re Water Rights to gila/little Colorado (Ariz. 2012). · cites it 2× “A.R.S. § 45-451 et seq. (2012). The right to use surface water and sub-flow is governed by the doctrine of prior appropriation, §§ 45-141, -251(7), meaning the first to divert water and put it to beneficial use has priority against later diverters, § 45- 151.”
Tdb Tucson Grp., L.L.C. v. City of Tucson (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “3d at 509 ; citing A.R.S. § 45-451(A)(1). Each AMA was required to adopt a conservation 9 ¶17 In Arizona, a municipality has the right to provide water service “through its municipal water plant to customers without, as well as within, its corporate limits.”
Aikins v. Ariz. Dept. of Water Resources, 743 P.2d 946 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “A.R.S. § 45-451. In the INAs, the principal control is an absolute ban on increased irrigation.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 45-451(A)(1) — 2 cases
Davis v. Agua Sierra Resources, L.L.C., 203 P.3d 506 (Ariz. 2009). “The GMA, however, does govern the withdrawal of groundwater on land outside an AMA if the water is to be transported to an established AMA.”
Tdb Tucson Grp., L.L.C. v. City of Tucson (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011). “3d at 509 ; citing A.R.S. § 45-451(A)(1). Each AMA was required to adopt a conservation 9 ¶17 In Arizona, a municipality has the right to provide water service “through its municipal water plant to customers without, as well as within, its corporate limits.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 45-451(B) — 1 case
Arizona Pub. Serv. Co. v. Long, 773 P.2d 988 (Ariz. 1989). “In this regard, I note that A.R.S. § 45-451(B) expressly provides: "This chapter [groundwater code] shall not be construed to affect decreed and appropriative water rights [surface water rights].”
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