Farmers in Pinal County are getting some financial breathing room after State Representative Chris Lopez (R-AZ) successfully pushed a significant piece of agricultural relief across the finish line in this year's state budget.
The FY2027 budget, recently signed into law, extends a moratorium on groundwater withdrawal fees for water banking purposes through 2030, while also capping annual groundwater withdrawal fees at $2.50 per acre-foot for the Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund.
Distributions from that fund will be extended through 2032, giving irrigation districts more time to allocate the money to approved projects.
For farmers in the Pinal Active Management Area – a region already navigating the long-term consequences of declining Colorado River water supplies – the extension represents meaningful stability at a critical moment.
Extensions Necessity
Lopez, who serves as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, pushed the measure as House Bill 2827 before successfully maneuvering it into the final budget through the Environment Budget Reconciliation Bill.
He framed the extension as a matter of both financial and practical necessity. "With ongoing negotiations related to the Colorado River, extending the program through 2030 was necessary to provide stability for irrigation districts as they prepare for a future with less Colorado River water," he said.
Although the stakes are real. In 2024, funds from the Temporary Groundwater and Irrigation Efficiency Projects Fund were swept to help balance the state budget, leaving farmers with fewer resources to prepare for the looming reductions in Colorado River allocations that have been in the works for years as the river's water levels continue to decline.
The extended fund allows irrigation districts to make the kinds of infrastructure investments that can stretch limited water supplies further, including upgrading wells and transitioning from open canals to closed pipe systems, which lose far less water to evaporation.
"It allows irrigation districts to upgrade their wells and move from open canals to closed pipe, which conserves water by reducing evaporative loss," Lopez said. "It helps keep Pinal money in Pinal."
