According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 28.8 percent of the lower 48 states are in drought. At one point in 2022, almost half of the country was in a drought condition. The lack of precipitation plays havoc on the groundwater supply, which is the basic water supply for most Americans. Because of unpredictable weather events and patterns, many states have revisited their water laws to ensure that their populations, animals, and farming are provided adequate sources of groundwater for the years to come. These changes in regulations will impact industrial, commercial, and residential development, as well as farming for those farms relying on groundwater usage. This is especially important in the sunbelt states from Texas to California where both population and water demand are on the rise. In fact, California and Texas are two of the top three states which utilize the largest total volume of groundwater due to their population size and extensive farming in arid areas. This article looks at several recently implemented water regulation changes in these states and the impact on residents and commercial entities.

A review of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the United States shows that four are found in the Southwest or western states—one in Arizona (Phoenix), two in Texas (Dallas and Houston), and one in California (Los Angeles). These cities and municipalities are engineering or regulating ways to provide water for their inhabitants while also meeting growth goals and demands. Most of the sunbelt region has experienced record heat and drought with limited amounts of rain to fill the groundwater supply during the last several years. The Colorado River, which provides water for some of our country’s fastest growing cities, is running dry due to a historically severe, multidecade drought. In fact, in 2021, the federal government mandated cuts to use of the river’s water supply for the first time impacting seven states and the 30 native tribes that are in the Colorado River Basin.

Arizona

Arizona lacks a statewide groundwater withdrawal permitting system. Landowners can pump groundwater under a “reasonable use” mandate. This has, however, led to serious overdraft of groundwater supplies, especially in the major metropolitan areas. In 1980, Arizona passed the Groundwater Management Act (GMA) which created four active management areas (AMAs) with specific management goals and requirements to address groundwater overdraft. It also

• Prohibited new irrigation in the AMAs
• Required water management plans which included conservation measures for each AMA
• Required developers in AMAs to demonstrate a 100-year assured water supply for new growth through an assured water supply program
• Required metering of all wells pumping more than 35 gallons per minute
• Required water use reporting.

In 1986, the Arizona legislature put in place a framework to develop underground water storage as well as groundwater recharge projects. The goal of all these regulations was that the most populated areas of the state would achieve “zero-yield” by 2025 such that withdrawals and recharge of the aquifers would be in balance. However, since GMA’s implementation, Arizona’s population has increased more than 170 percent and the state has also faced moderate-to-severe drought conditions over the last two decades. Currently, groundwater supplies 41 percent of the needs in Arizona.

In January 2023, the governor released an Arizona Department of Water Resources study which showed that the Lower Hassayampa sub-basin that encompasses the far West Valley of Phoenix was projected to have a total unmet demand of 4.4 million acre-ft over a 100-year period given current conditions and the result of decades of groundwater overuse and reliance on groundwater resources. The Department of Water Resources took action such that it could not approve any subdivision development which relied solely upon groundwater. In addition, Governor Hobbs signed an executive order to create the Governor’s Water Policy Council that is tasked with updating the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act.

Based on the study, on June 1, the State of Arizona announced that it will no longer approve in the Phoenix area any new commercial or residential developments expecting to get their water supply directly from groundwater. This decision primarily affects desert areas on the fringe of the metropolitan area of more than 4.6 million residents. It does not affect already approved developments. To obtain approval, future communities or developments will be required to show that they can provide alternative sources of water, such as recycled or surface water.

Texas

Texas subscribes to the Rule of Capture regarding groundwater. It allows a landowner to produce and use as much groundwater on their land as beneficial, regardless of whether the use depletes water in adjacent landowner wells. As populations grew in the state, the Texas legislature enacted rules in the 1950s authorizing and creating local groundwater conservation districts to manage groundwater usage and regulate groundwater production in their areas. Currently there are about 100 such districts across the state. In 1989, the state legislature created the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee to monitor the groundwater management in Texas and foster cooperation between state agencies. At the end of the 1990s and early in 2000s the legislature put into place additional permit and use restrictions to be authorized by these conservation districts. Most individual well owners are exempt from these restrictions, but commercial developers and exporters must apply for use permits. As the years passed, Texas has required these districts to develop management plans and goals for conservation.

Groundwater is the primary water source for the state of Texas accounting for about 60 percent of the state’s yearly water use. Texas is the second largest groundwater pumper in the nation, according to National Groundwater Association data. The Ogallala Aquifer that sits below West Texas is being drained at a faster rate due to lack of rainwater such that the mayor of Lubbock has asked people to conserve. Municipal demand for groundwater in Texas is projected to surpass that of irrigation by 2060 and the Texas Water Development Board estimates a statewide water shortage of between 5 million and 7 million acre-ft during a drought of record if new water sources are not developed. In 1993, the board established the Texas Water Bank to facilitate the transfer, sale, or lease of water rights throughout the state. Such water markets help cities meet their additional requirements. For example, the City of San Antonio and the Edwards Aquifer Authority use these types of transactions to protect the Edwards Aquifer and support area growth. But transfer alone will not help the demand issue, especially when the state continues to be experiencing extreme drought. In Central Texas, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District has issued 20 notices of alleged violation for overuse by its permittees with one city water authority using more than 90 million gallons over their maximum allowed. With water usage on the rise and drought conditions remaining, in May, the Texas State Legislature approved two bills that would pay out $1 billion to upgrade the state’s water infrastructure and help start several new water supply projects.

California

Groundwater accounts for almost 60 percent of California’s water supply in drought years and currently 43 percent of monitored wells are below normal levels. Like Texas, California subscribes to the Right of Capture rule for groundwater usage. However, in 2014, during the middle of a seven-year drought, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which set out a framework to help protect the state’s groundwater supply for the long term. This required local stakeholders to form a sustainable agency to develop a plan to maintain their groundwater basins and reach sustainable pumping levels by 2040 such that overdraft of their groundwater supplies is limited. In 2021, the California Department of Water Resources developed a LandFlex Program which provides immediate drought relief to drinking water wells in the most drought-stricken communities. It also limits unsustainable groundwater extraction in the most critically overdrafted basins which leaves more availability for drinking water in the most sensitive areas.

In March 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to give local agencies and other water users permission to capture runoff from the unprecedented winter storms that California saw to help recharge the state groundwater supplies.

In June, the Los Angeles Times reported that, despite record-breaking precipitation in California this past winter, stored groundwater volumes are only projected to recoup a small margin of what has been extracted to supply the Central Valley of California’s agricultural production during years of extreme drought. A bill (AB 1563) has recently been introduced to require more enforcement of agricultural well drilling in the most critical groundwater areas. This is based upon an executive order signed by Governor Newsom in 2022 which directed all counties and cities to obtain verification from the local groundwater sustainability agency that any well permit issued would be consistent with the agency’s plan and wouldn’t jeopardize the likelihood of reaching its groundwater sustainability goals. The executive order also mandated that any new drilling would not impact any adjacent wells or cause subsidence which might damage infrastructures.

Several towns in or near the Central Valley have seen increased population over the past number of years, so the demand for groundwater for residential use is becoming more significant in this key agricultural region. Fortunately, the state has issued permits for agencies to divert water to nine groundwater recharge projects in the Central Valley, making it one of the largest water replenishments in such a short period.

Water Management Is Crucial

With population shifts to the sunbelt states, it is important that cities manage their current water supplies and develop new water supplies from runoff from flood events (stormwater) and reuse wastewater to help secure their future by providing water for generations to come. Groundwater supplies in the most populated areas of the sunbelt states have had decades of decline and only in recent years are serious steps being taken to curtail this decline. This is necessary to protect residential, commercial, and industrial development. The sunbelt states, as is the case with many parts of the United States, depend on an economic engine of growth. Building housing subdivisions and the commercial entities to supply the needs of those homeowners requires water—large quantities of water. Without new water supplies this growth is stunted or, in some cases, completely stopped. Groundwater, without the serious development of aquifer storage programs, cannot be the answer. Aquifer replenishment and storage is increasing but not at the rate needed to meet the growing water demands of Arizona, Texas, California, and other western states. The reuse of wastewater must also dramatically increase to meet growing demands. Another source that should also be explored and developed is the extraction and treatment of groundwater which is of a lower quality. Historically, these sources have been overlooked because of the high cost of treatment.