"The first real crack has opened in the logjam that halted construction of nearly half a million Phoenix-area houses: The water company EPCOR won the right to build up to 60,000 new homes in parts of the already-booming cities of Buckeye and Surprise, Arizona, as well as in other areas of Maricopa County, perennially listed as one of the nation's fastest-growing counties."
"This marks the first time in over two years that the Arizona Department of Water Resources has lifted even a portion of a moratorium banning the construction of new subdivisions that rely on groundwater. The ADWR issued the moratorium in June 2023 after concluding that the Phoenix area's long-depleted aquifer no longer had enough water to serve all the developments planned for the region for 100 years as required by the 1980 Groundwater Management Act."
"Earlier this month, EPCOR acquired the right to move forward with housing through a newly created legal process that created an "alternative designation," which allows new groundwater-using subdivisions to be built as long as they agree to bring in outside renewable water supplies. Once that water arrives, they have to shave their groundwater use by 25%. Other public and private water providers in the Phoenix area are expected to eventually follow EPCOR's example and gain the new designation."
EPCOR won approval to build up to 60,000 new homes in Buckeye, Surprise and other parts of Maricopa County. The Arizona Department of Water Resources lifted part of a two-year moratorium that had blocked new groundwater-dependent subdivisions after finding the region's aquifer could not supply planned developments for 100 years as required by the 1980 Groundwater Management Act. The new alternative designation allows groundwater-using subdivisions to proceed if they secure outside renewable water supplies and commit to reducing groundwater use by 25% once those supplies arrive. Other providers are expected to seek the designation while legal challenges continue.
Read at High Country News
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