The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) received some great holiday news to round out 2025 – Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) approval on its 2025 Plan of Operation! This welcome news came after a multi-year effort that included input from the CAWCD Board, CAP stakeholders and industry experts.

The 2025 Plan outlines the replenishment activities proposed in the Phoenix, Pinal and Tucson Active Management Areas (AMAs) over the next 100 years, based on CAGRD membership activity through 2034. The Plan also accounts for the impacts of the “ag-to-urban” legislation passed in 2025.

“The approval of the 2025 Plan is critical to both central and southern Arizona groundwater management and its economy,” says Laura Grignano, manager, CAGRD. “CAGRD helps certain water providers and landowners comply with Arizona’s 100-year Assured Water Supply Program by replenishing the groundwater they use.”

Here are some of the highlights of the Plan:

• The total annual replenishment obligation for current members and those projected to enroll in the 10-year planning period is estimated to be 85,300 acre-feet in 2044. In 2124, the projected annual replenishment obligation for current and projected members is 104,400 acre-feet.
• CAGRD has secured annual rights to 77,141 acre-feet of water supplies and is no longer reliant on CAP excess water. At the request of the ADWR, CAGRD removed all NIA priority CAP water from its analysis. CAGRD acknowledges the uncertainty of future CAP availability and has sufficient supplies to meet its projected 20-year obligation for current and new members even under sustained shortage conditions. CAGRD has identified potentially available supplies that could be used to meet replenishment obligations over the next 100 years.
• CAGRD has accrued nearly 335,000 acre-feet of credits in its Replenishment Reserve accounts to date. Under the newly revised Replenishment Reserve target calculations, the Phoenix and Tucson AMA targets have been met.
• CAGRD has more than sufficient storage capacity to meet its needs over the next 20 years, especially with the addition of two new underground storage facilities since the 2015 Plan: Sustainable Effluent to Aquifer Project and Olberg Dam.

The financial mechanisms available to CAGRD ensure its capability to meet its statutory obligations, using funds collected exclusively from its members. CAGRD utilizes multiple revenue sources to fulfill its obligations. CAGRD also successfully exercised its bonding authority for the first time in 2019.