This site has been established to facilitate the online filing of Notices of Intention to Drill Wells that are required by A.R.S. 45-569 and A.A.C. R12-15-810. The use of this site is restricted to licensed drilling contractors holding a current well-drilling license issued under the authority of A.R.S. 45-595(B) and A.A.C. R12-15-803 by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). 

This site may be used to obtain online authorization to drill an exempt water-production well that is located within an Active Management Area (AMA) or to drill any type of water-production well in an area located outside an AMA. This website may also be used to obtain authorization to drill a monitor, piezometer, environmental or exploration well at any location within the state. Well drillers and wells owners are advised that it is illegal to drill wells without official authorization. Compliance actions may be taken against well drillers and well owners who drill such wells.

The following authorizations to drill or abandon wells are not available through an online process at this time:

1. Authorization to drill new non-exempt water production wells within AMAs. This authorization must be obtained by filing an application for a well permit as required by A.R.S. § 45-599 or a groundwater withdrawal permit.
2. Authorization to modify, deepen, replace or abandon a well. These authorizations must be obtained by filing a paper NOI form.
3. Authorization to replace a non-exempt well in approximately the same location in an AMA, as authorized under A.R.S. § 45-597 and A.A.C. R12-15-840 This authorization must be obtained by filing a paper NOI form.
4. Authorization to drill new water production wells in or near the boundaries of a contamination site. This authorization must be obtained by filing a paper NOI form.
5. Authorization to drill a Cathodic Protection, Grounding, or Heat Pump well. These authorizations must be obtained by filing a paper NOI form.
6. Authorization to drill a Monitor, Piezometer, or Environment well, which is located within an area of known groundwater contamination and the screened or perforated interval is greater than 100 feet. These authorizations must be obtained by filing a paper NOI form. 

For forms and applications not available through an online process, see our drop-down menu above titled "Permits, Forms and Applications."

In addition to obtaining a well-drilling authorization, this site provides general drilling and abandonment information and presents special well construction requirements that apply to all wells that will be drilled within areas of known groundwater contamination. Such areas may include but are not limited to State of Arizona Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) sites and federal CERCLA (Superfund) or DOD sites. This website also presents substantive policy statements that provide general authorization for some types of well drilling and well abandonment variances. Variance requests that are not covered by the substantive policy statements must be made in writing and submitted along with the appropriate NOI form to:

Arizona Department of Water Resources
Permitting and Wells
P. O. Box 36020
Phoenix, Arizona 85067-6020

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read these files. Download the plug-in here if necessary.