Environment (Water Quality)

HB 2053 appropriates $100,000 from the state general fund to Arizona's Department of Water Resources for updated stormwater recharge mapping in fiscal year 2026-2027. Within 180 days, the department must collaborate with agricultural districts and the state natural resource conservation board to create a map identifying potential stormwater recharge sites. The map must show locations on public or private lands with suitable soil for groundwater recharge, excluding areas with existing surface water rights or where runoff would enter streams. This bill defines "stormwater" as rainwater runoff that doesn't enter streams and would otherwise evaporate.