Lawmakers, county lobbyists say 2025 session left rural groundwater protections unfinished; Mohave wins several local project grants

Sen. Hilde Angus, who represents Legislative District 30, told the Mohave County Board of Supervisors on July 7 that the 2025 legislative session was long and contentious but delivered a series of district wins, including $3 million toward a Sacramento Basin well pump and multiple road and sheriff funding allocations. "We got a million dollars for Mountain View, the Mountain View Bypass Road," Angus said, and later listed state allocations for the sheriff's office, search and rescue, courthouse funding and other local projects.

Lobbyist Craig Sullivan and attendees from High Ground gave the board a detailed accounting of the water‑policy fights at the Capitol, saying the session failed to produce the broad groundwater protections rural counties sought. Sullivan reviewed competing bills (described in the session as SB 1221, SB 1520 and SB 1425), and stressed that the 2024 proposal had left many basins exposed and contained provisions county representatives believed were too narrow or otherwise objectionable. "We were concerned as a county with, if another basin needed to be protected," he said, noting concerns about banking rules, council makeup and small‑farm exemptions.

Board members and county lobbyists described two linked disappointments: (1) rural Arizona repeatedly takes longer to secure groundwater protections than urban areas and (2) efforts to tie agricultural transfers to urban development were not capitalized on this year. County leaders flagged the make‑up of proposed water councils and the percentage of seats allocated to out‑of‑basin appointees as a central disagreement. In the session the “council” structure drew criticism because nominees would be selected from lists and the governor would appoint a majority, a process some supervisors said undercut "consent of the governed." "It is not a true consent of the governed in the sense that it is elected," one lobbyist said.

The presentations also detailed near‑term county gains secured through the budget process: a multi‑year allocation for a Kingman area water project, $1.5 million for an Eastern Avenue extension in Kingman, $1.5 million for Hancock Road in Bullhead City and $1 million targeted for Mohave County sheriff expenses to help with recruiting and retention following state employee pay increases. Angus and Sullivan told the board those allocations offset, but did not solve, the broader regional water challenges that remain.

Why it matters: county officials said securing project funding helps local infrastructure and public safety near term, but leaves long‑term groundwater governance unresolved. Supervisors and lobbyists told the board that Mohave County will continue to press for statutory frameworks that allow additional basins to be considered for protections, increase mandatory conservation where feasible and guard against measures that could create private monopolies over groundwater supplies.

What’s next: staff and county lobbyists said they will track ADWR supply‑and‑demand assessments for specific basins in 2026–27, continue advocacy ahead of post‑2026 Colorado River consultations, and brief the board again as new ADWR or federal proposals are filed.