Community Water Systems
Overview
The term Community Water System (CWS) refers to any water system that serves 15 or more service connections (also known as "hook-ups") used by year-round residents, or that serves 25 or more year-round residents who use water for drinking, cooking, bathing and cleaning. A CWS may also serve all the businesses and other water users within its boundaries.
These water systems are divided into two categories: large and small water systems. Any water system that serves more than 1,850 residents will be classified as a large water system.
Requirements
Community Water Systems are required to complete annual water-use reports and system water plans. These requirements are part of a larger set of recommendations made by the Governor's Drought Task Force in 2005. The reports and plans are intended to reduce Community Water Systems’ vulnerability to drought and ensure that water providers are prepared to respond to drought or water shortage conditions.
The information submitted by the water systems also will allow the State to provide regional assistance for drought planning, mitigation and response. That information includes:
- Information on water pumped or diverted, water received, water delivered to customers, and effluent used or received.
- The system water plan, which should be updated and submitted every five years and should consist of three components:
- Water Supply Plan, which describes the service area, transmission facilities, monthly system production data, historical demand for the past five years, and projected demands for the next five, 10 and 20 years.
- Drought Preparedness Plan, which includes drought and emergency response strategies, a plan of action to respond to water shortage conditions, and provisions to educate and inform the public.
- Water Conservation Plan, which addresses measures to control lost and unaccounted for water, considers water rate structures that encourage efficient use of water, and plans for public information and education programs on water conservation.
Use the buttons below to access system water plan and annual report pages directly
Compliance
Arizona statutes require the Department of Water Resources to provide notification of Community Water System non-compliance to local governing bodies within the service area of the systems. "Non-compliance" means that these systems are not in compliance with the system water plan, and/or the annual water use reporting requirements. Notification letters for reporting year 2021 were sent out in October 2022 to county boards of supervisors and city officials with a link to this page.
Accordion Title
This list will be updated as ADWR continues to receive late plans and reports. (Note: the list of missing annual reports includes only systems located outside Arizona's active management areas.)
