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Arizona Department of Water Resources

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ADWR Dictionary

ADWR Dictionary

ADWR Dictionary

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Wastewater

Water that is discharged after an industrial or municipal use, excluding effluent

Water Adequacy Program

 The program implementing A.R.S. § 45-108, requiring a developer of subdivided land outside an AMA to obtain a determination from the Department regarding the availability of water supplies before the land may be marketed for sale or lease to the public, unless the land will be served by a water provider designated as having an adequate water supply. Under this regulatory program, developers are required to disclose a determination that the water supply is inadequate to potential buyers.

Water duty

The amount of water that is reasonable to apply to irrigated land to produce a crop. The water duty accounts for field location and soil type, and incorporates consumptive use, evaporation and seepage from the farm water delivery system and the water that is returned to the soil via percolation and runoff.

Water Movement

The receipt or delivery of any type of water for direct use by customers, for use within a municipal water service area, or to or from another entity, including underground and groundwater savings facility storage and annual or long-term credit recovery. Water movements also include deliveries and receipts from other entities that are not required to file an annual water withdrawal and use report, such as the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, local or regional wastewater treatment plants owned by a county or other entity, and Indian reservations.

Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) site

A site included in the State of Arizona’s "Superfund" program that investigates sites that are contaminated with hazardous substances and develops remedial actions that assure the protection of public health and welfare and the environment. The WQARF program is administered by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The WQARF program is authorized by A.R.S. § 49-282.

Water storage permit

A permit to store water at a storage facility.

Water table

The top of the water surface in the saturated part of a non-confined aquifer.

Water year

A 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30. The water year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends, e.g. the 2006 water year ends September 30, 2006. 

Water-Intensive Landscaped Area

For the calendar year in question, all of the following areas within a non-residential facility: a) Any area of land that is planted primarily with plants not listed in ADWR’s Low Water Use/Drought Tolerant Plant List for TAMA and watered with a permanent water application system, except any area of land that is watered exclusively with direct use reclaimed water or reclaimed water recovered within the area of impact; b) The total water surface area of all bodies of water within the facility, except bodies of water used primarily for swimming purposes, bodies of water filled and refilled exclusively with direct use reclaimed water or reclaimed water recovered within the area of impact, and bodies of water allowed under an interim water use permit pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-133 if the bodies of water will be filled and refilled exclusively with direct use reclaimed water or reclaimed water recovered within the area of impact after the permit expires.

Watershed

A drainage divide or a drainage-basin area contributing water to a network of stream channels, a lake, or other topographic lows where water can collect.

Well

A well is a man-made opening in the earth through which water may be withdrawn or obtained from beneath the surface of the earth, with certain exceptions.  A.R.S. § 45-402(43).

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Arizona Department of Water Resources
1110 W Washington Street Suite 310
Phoenix, AZ 85007
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Phone: 602.771.8500 | Fax: 602.771.8689
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