HB 2818 Summary

• Amends Arizona water law to allow persons to apply for water rights to withdraw appropriable surface water from wells located in subflow zones within court-adjudicated watersheds.

• Establishes that the priority date for such water rights is the date water from the well was first put to beneficial use, rather than the application date.

• Requires wells to have existed when the court entered final judgment establishing subflow zone boundaries and must have a history of withdrawing water for beneficial use.

• Creates a filing process through the court system where a Master determines whether the well withdraws appropriable surface water, calculates the proportion of surface water withdrawn, and recommends water rights attributes.

• Establishes a filing fee set by the director as the cost for completing a water right claim under this section.