Arizona agency takes action to regulate groundwater use in rural southeast

The director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources has determined that it's necessary to regulate the use of groundwater in the state’s rural southeast. The agency's announcement Friday allows it to designate a controlled area to stop rapid depletion of the water through agricultural use. The department’s director says data analysis of hydrologic conditions in the state’s Willcox basin shows that the conditions have been met to take steps. He is empowered as director under state law to designate what is known as an “active management area” for the Willcox Groundwater Basin in Arizona’s Cochise and Graham counties.