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Local Navajo Nation member urges county engagement on rural groundwater legislation and upcoming workshop
Summary
Michelle C. Benally, a Navajo Nation member, told the board that recent Arizona bills propose local groundwater management areas in parts of the state but exclude plateau basins such as those in Navajo County; she encouraged the board to engage and advertised a June 18 workshop focused on the Little Colorado River Plateau Basin.
Michelle C. Benally, a member of the Navajo Nation raised rural groundwater legislation during the public-comment period and urged the board to stay engaged on potential groundwater management changes that could affect the northern plateau aquifers.
Benally summarized pending and introduced state bills she said are focused on creating localized groundwater management structures. She said "Senate bill 1520, introduced by Senator Tim Dunn, proposes the creation of bank basin management areas (BMAs) in specific rural regions" (as stated in her remarks) and that "Senate bill 1425 and House bill 2714, collectively known as the Bridal Groundwater Management Act of 2025," were introduced with support from Governor Hobbs but were not heard in committee. Benally said the legislative efforts so far concentrate on southern and western Arizona and that initial designations exclude plateau aquifers in Northern Arizona such as the Little Colorado River Plateau Basin.
She reported that key stakeholders met on April 3 to discuss rural groundwater bills and that those conversations lacked representatives from Northern Arizona rural communities. Benally encouraged the board to consider participating in a rural groundwater resilience workshop hosted by Arizona State University’s Arizona Water Innovation Initiative and Impact Water Arizona focused on the Little Colorado River Plateau Basin on June 18 and offered to connect board members with organizers.
No board action followed the comment; the item was submitted during public comment and recorded for the board’s information.
