The Phoenix Active Management Area, administered by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, sets groundwater rules across most of Maricopa County. Outdoor watering schedules are imposed by individual cities and water providers, not by county-wide ordinance, though AMA conservation requirements still apply.
Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 1980 created Active Management Areas (AMAs); the Phoenix AMA covers most of Maricopa County. The Arizona Department of Water Resources enforces ARS title 45 chapter 2 management plans, which set per-capita gallons-per-day targets, turf-area limits for new non-residential developments, and best management practices for golf courses, agriculture, and large municipal providers. There is no countywide residential lawn-watering day-of-week schedule. Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, and other cities issue their own outdoor irrigation rules, drought stages, and stage-three restrictions. Unincorporated residents on private wells must still comply with AMA grandfathered-rights rules and may need to register exempt wells under fifteen hundred gallons per minute.
Violating ADWR Phoenix AMA conservation rules or unregistered well operation triggers civil penalties up to ten thousand dollars per day under ARS section 45-635, plus orders to install meters, file reports, or cease excessive groundwater pumping.
Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale enforces water conservation measures including irrigation restrictions and water waste prohibitions. The city is within the Phoenix Active Managem...
Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale permits artificial turf in residential and commercial landscaping. In the context of Scottsdale's desert water conservation goals, artificial turf...
Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale's Native Plant Ordinance (Chapter 46, Article V) is one of the most comprehensive in Arizona, protecting dozens of indigenous desert plant species...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Maricopa County.
See how other cities in Maricopa County handle lawn watering restrictions.
See how Scottsdale's lawn watering restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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