2024-04-07 Are domestic wells draining our aquifer?

In the Prescott Active Management Area (PrAMA), family homes in rural areas that are not served by a water utility must rely on a small domestic well. The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) calls these family wells “exempt wells,” meaning that they are not required to report annual water use.

ADWR management plans do not mention and fail to protect these families. ADWR is apparently unaware that about 500 family wells on the edges of the Little Chino aquifer in the PrAMA are now failing, an early symptom of excessive groundwater pumping. Worse, one local water manager has historically blamed family wells for the groundwater overdraft, claiming the wells are unregulated. This is an attempt to deflect blame from the true culprits by scapegoating.