ARIZONA JUST FROZE NEW FARM IRRIGATION IN THE SAN SIMON VALLEY: What the October 24 Groundwater Hearing Means If You Own Land in Southeast Arizona
If you own or are shopping for land in the northeast corner of Cochise County, there is a state hearing two weeks from now that is about the ground under it. On October 24, the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) will take public comment in the Bowie High School gym on whether to make the San Simon Valley an Irrigation Non-Expansion Area. One restriction is already in effect while the state decides.
That sounds like bad news for anyone who wants water on a rural lot. For most small parcels, it is closer to the opposite. Here is what is actually on the table.
What Was Actually Decided (and What Wasn't)
Nothing has been designated yet. What ADWR did was formally start the process. The department published its notice on September 2, 2026, after reviewing a petition that local growers filed on September 15, 2025.
Two dates matter from here:
October 24, 2026, 4:00 p.m.: public hearing at the Bowie High School gym, 315 W. 5th St., Bowie. Doors open at 3:30, and ADWR lists a virtual option on its notice page.
October 26, 2026: deadline for written comments submitted outside the hearing.
After that, the ADWR director makes the call. The department has not published a decision date.
Where the San Simon Valley Is
The San Simon Valley sub-basin sits in the far southeast of the state, running along the New Mexico line. The Peloncillo Mountains are on the east side, and the Chiricahua, Dos Cabezas, and southern Pinaleño ranges are on the west. It is part of the larger Safford groundwater basin.
In county terms, local reporting describes it as northeastern Cochise County, including Bowie and San Simon, plus portions of southern Graham and Greenlee counties. It is a different basin from its neighbor to the west, the Willcox basin, which became an Active Management Area in late 2024. Same corner of the state, different rules.
What an INA Is, in Plain English
An Irrigation Non-Expansion Area, or INA, is the lighter of Arizona's two main groundwater tools. According to ADWR, it does two things:
It stops new acres from being brought into irrigation, with limited exceptions. Existing farms keep farming.
It adds monitoring and reporting for most people pumping from a non-exempt well.
That is the whole idea: hold the irrigated footprint where it is, and start measuring. It is not a pumping cutback, and it is not an Active Management Area. In fact, state law only allows an INA when the director finds that an AMA is not necessary.
The Freeze That Is Already in Effect
Here's the part that matters right now. Under Arizona law, once the state starts this process, an interim rule kicks in automatically. In the San Simon Valley, irrigation users can only irrigate acres that were irrigated at some point in the five years before September 2, 2026. That stays in place until the director makes a final decision.
The word "irrigate" has a specific legal meaning here. ADWR's notice defines it as applying water to two or more acres to grow plants for sale, for human consumption, or for livestock or poultry feed. This is a rule about commercial-scale farming, not about a spigot behind a cabin.
Why Farmers Asked for This Themselves
It helps to know who started this. It was not Phoenix. The petition came from growers in the valley. State law requires at least one-fourth of an area's groundwater irrigation users to sign, and ADWR counted 18 valid petitioners, enough to clear that bar.
The numbers in ADWR's technical memo, as reported by Western Water, explain why. The department estimates roughly 24,000 acre-feet of water flowing into the aquifer each year against about 76,000 acre-feet going out, mostly through pumping. Water levels at some monitoring sites have dropped more than 300 feet since the mid-1900s. Parts of the valley floor have sunk, and the Arizona Geological Survey has mapped about 26 miles of earth fissures there.
This is also the second try. ADWR rejected an earlier San Simon petition in 2015, finding at that time that there was enough groundwater for irrigation. Ten years of measurements later, the question is back.
What This Means for a Small Parcel
If your plan for a lot is a cabin, an RV pad, a few animals, or a long-term hold, an INA is mostly aimed at someone else. Local coverage of the proposal states it plainly: residential wells are exempt from INA requirements. The metering and reporting rules apply to larger wells, generally those pumping 35 gallons per minute or more.
What an INA does change for you is the neighborhood. If the designation goes through, the large open tract down the road cannot be turned into a new irrigated field pulling from the same aquifer. For a small well owner, a cap on new big pumping is protection, not a penalty.
What an INA Does Not Do
It's worth being just as clear about the limits:
It does not refill the aquifer. Existing irrigation continues. Even supporters have called an INA a first step, not a fix.
It does not guarantee water under any parcel. Depth to water and well cost vary lot by lot, and in a declining basin they can change over time.
It does not replace county rules. Well permits, septic, and zoning still run through the county and ADWR the same as before.
A basin that needs this conversation is a basin where you should do your water homework carefully. That was true before the hearing was scheduled.
What to Check This Month
Find your basin. Confirm whether a parcel sits in the San Simon Valley sub-basin, the Willcox AMA, or neither. ADWR's maps are the source to trust, not a listing description.
Pull nearby well records. ADWR's well registry shows depths and water levels for registered wells around a parcel.
Call a local driller. Nobody knows current depths and costs in a specific area better.
Price your backup. Know where the nearest water hauling station is and what a cistern setup would run.
If you have an opinion, say so. The hearing is open to the public, and written comments are accepted through October 26.
The Bottom Line
Groundwater rules in rural Arizona used to change once in a generation. Now they are changing basin by basin, and the San Simon Valley is the next one up. For a small-acreage owner, the practical read is simple: the proposed rule targets new large-scale irrigation, leaves household-scale wells alone, and says nothing either way about how much water is under your specific lot. That last part is still yours to verify.
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