Committee advances amended bill to bring domestic wells into management in critical groundwater areas

The House Resources and Conservation Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 1083, an amended measure that will bring domestic well users into groundwater management in designated critical groundwater areas and create options to consolidate domestic uses and require measurement for irrigation components in some subdivisions.

Sponsor Representative Doug Pickett said the bill is the result of a multi-year collaborative process involving water users, realtors, home builders, well drillers and local governments. “This bill attempts to do is to address some of those issues,” Pickett said, describing four primary elements: bringing domestic users into the conversation and making them aware when they are in critical groundwater areas; enabling subdivisions to consolidate individual rights into a single well;…