Sierra Vista Sub-Watershed
Water Conservation and Management
Policy Plan

FINAL

Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
March 21, 2006
Resolution 06-21

PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WATER POLICY AMENDMENT
Section 102. 1E of the Comprehensive Plan is proposed as follows, with additions or changes
highlighted and deletions with strikethrough:

E. Water Conservation Goal and Policies
Goal: Sustain an adequate, safe water supply through water conservation measures;
policies, incentive programs; education; conservation and enhancement of natural recharge
areas; and cooperative, multi-jurisdictional planning.
Comment: Water is a limited and limiting resource throughout the County, but certain areas
face more immediate issues. Arizona Revised Statutes §11-821.C(3) allows all counties to
specifically plan for development as it relates to available water resources.
Policies:
1. The County will use its most current water resources inventory of available surface water,
groundwater, and effluent supplies to evaluate the potential impacts to local water supplies
from master development plans, rezonings, special uses, major amendments to this plan
and other major developments.
2. Major developments shall indicate the design features that will be incorporated into the
development to:
(a) Minimize overall water use through water conservation measures such as droughttolerant landscaping, low-flow fixtures, re-use, water harvesting, deed restrictions
and other water conservation methods.
(b) Address accelerated run-off due to construction and impervious surfaces.
(c) Conserve and enhance recharge through methods such as the use of detention
basins, protection of open space and minimizing disturbance of soils and other
methods.
3. Major development shall be defined as all subdivisions; and non-residential, multi-family
residential and mobile manufactured home park developments of one (1) acre or larger.
4. The County will pursue methods for individual homeowners and businesses to decrease
water use through incentives, education and various zoning mechanisms.
5. In order to minimize or mitigate water usage, golf courses and other high water uses
shall be permitted only as Special Uses.
6. The County shall may implement a joint development plans for the Sierra Vista Subwatershed, or portions thereof, through intergovernmental agreements and a joint
planning effort with those incorporated cities of the Sub-watershed that choose to
participate, pursuant to ARS § 9-461.11.E and ARS § 11-951, et seq.. The joint
development plans shall may address water issues that may include existing and
proposed mechanisms for conserving water, infrastructure, vested property rights,
incentive programs, implementation schedules, and other issues as they relate to
development in the sub-watershed. The County may implement joint development plans
for other basins, sub-watersheds, or portions thereof, as necessary.

1

7. The County will work with agencies and organizations throughout the County, as
necessary, to address regional water resources issues as they relate to growth and
protection of the County’s natural resources.
8. The County may develop additional water conservation and management policies
to be applied to all new development on a sub-watershed by sub-watershed basis.
9. Overlay zoning districts may be used by the County as a tool to implement such
additional water conservation and management policies, through the enforcement
of applicable provisions of adopted building codes and specific site development
standards for all residential and non-residential development, where appropriate.

Plan Area Boundaries:
The Sierra Vista Sub-watershed Area Water Management and Conservation Plan will
apply to the Sierra Vista Sub-watershed, as defined by the Arizona Department of
Water Resources and the USGS. In general, the "plan area" is defined by the subwatershed boundary that extends from the Mule Mountains and Dragoon Mountains
along the eastern boundary, to the Huachuca and Whetstone Mountains along the
western boundary, the international boundary with Mexico to the south and the subwatershed boundary slightly north of Highway 82.
Reasons for Creating the Plan:
1. In November of 2003, Congress passed legislation currently referred to as
Section 321 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004 (PL-108-136,
herein referred to as Section 321), recognizing the Upper San Pedro Partnership
and its members, including Cochise County, as the vehicle for mitigating water
use impacts in the sub-watershed. Section 321 calls for the Secretary of the
Interior, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Defense and in
cooperation with the Upper San Pedro Partnership, to report on the water use
management and conservation measures that have been implemented and are
needed to restore and maintain the sustainable yield of the regional aquifer by
and after September 30, 2011, so as to protect the San Pedro River.
2. In addition to community responsibilities referred to in Section 321, the County
has agreed to assist Fort Huachuca, a major local economic contributor, in
meeting its goals to eliminate deficit groundwater pumping attributable to the
existence of the fort under a Biological Opinion with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
3. Arizona Revised Statutes §11-821.C(3) (Growing Smarter amendments) allows all
counties to specifically plan for development as it relates to available water
resources.
4. The Cochise County Comprehensive Plan, Section 201 D allows for the
establishment of other plan areas and plans, which may "have policies, elements
or standards which modify, replace or supersede those in otherwise applicable
growth areas or plan designations."

2

5. While science continues to be applied to help us fully understand the magnitude of
a deficit in the Upper San Pedro Basin, and judge its impact, the Board of
Supervisors believes we now have a public consensus that we need to pump less
water from the aquifer, use and reuse what we take out responsibly, and recharge
or augment our supply as necessary to preserve the surface flow in the San Pedro
River, accommodate reasonable economic growth, avoid jeopardy to Fort
Huachuca's continued operation and protect against drought.
POLICIES
Pursuant to the Cochise County Comprehensive Plan, Section 201 D, this plan and the
policies herein shall be applied to all rezonings, special uses and subdivisions within the
Sierra Vista Sub-watershed, herein known as the plan area. Unless otherwise
specified, these policies shall modify, replace and/or supersede other policies, as
applicable, that have been adopted previously.

1. New Land Uses General Policies
Policy 1.1 New commercial or higher density residential development should be
located in areas where services, including regulated water providers and wastewater
treatment facilities, exist or can be extended or established, and only when these
services can adequately serve both new and existing development for the anticipated
lifetime of the uses.
Policy 1.2 The use of conservation tools, such as fee-simple acquisition, conservation
easements, transfer or purchase of development rights, and the conservation
subdivision alternative, are encouraged and supported by this plan to protect washes,
open space, wildlife corridors and the hydrologic functions of the plan area.
Policy 1.3 All approvals for rezonings to a higher density shall be conditioned with the
requirement that new development proceed under the subdivision process.
Policy 1.4 For multi-phased developments, in addition to compliance with these
policies, a factor in the approval of subsequent rezonings or special uses may be the
degree to which conditions have been successfully fulfilled for the prior phases.
Policy 1.5 Overlay zoning districts may be used as a tool in the plan area to implement
specific water conservation and management site development standards that will apply
to all new residential and non-residential development.
Policy 1.6 Overlay zoning districts may be used in the plan area to establish sending
and receiving areas for the transfer of development rights.

3

2. Water Management and Conservation General Policies
The regional aquifer of the plan area is the County's sole source of water for residential
and non-residential development. The regional aquifer also supports the perennial and
intermittent flows of the San Pedro River, especially through the federally-designated
San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.
The existing zoning of any property throughout the plan area provides a baseline for
determining what the potential ground water impacts may be if the area were developed
under current, permitted densities. Therefore, future requests for increased densities
and/or intensity of uses should take this into consideration and should not increase
groundwater withdrawals in the plan area beyond these baseline assumptions.
Policy 2.1 Reduce potential ground water pumping within the Plan area to a level that
will contribute, on a cumulative basis, to the Upper San Pedro Partnership's target of
reducing the Sierra Vista Sub-Watershed's projected annual deficit which is based on
projected growth in the area.
Policy 2.2 With the exception of storm water detention basins, water harvesting
facilities, or effluent recharge basins, or other similar technologies, new development
shall not incorporate major common area open water facilities or water features, such
as ponds, fountains, “misting” features, or inefficient watering systems for landscaping.
Policy 2.3 New development shall meet or exceed County Highway and Floodplain
Department standards to preserve existing watercourses within the plan area and as
identified in the Hydrologic Protection Areas Final Report, adopted in 2001 by the Upper
San Pedro Partnership.
Policy 2.4 New residential development proposed in rezonings to higher density shall
incorporate an integrated design system of ground water, wastewater and storm water
management for each parcel and for entire subdivisions or development such that, in
the aggregate, on-site potable water systems are designed to use the same or less
water than would be used if the property were developed under existing zoning. This
determination shall be based upon the County's and Arizona Department of Water
Resources' (ADWR) best available estimates of water use. Proposed and verified
effluent recharge and/or a legal and verifiable transfer, retirement or purchase of
development rights, executed by the applicant, on property within the plan area may
also be used to off-set projected demands. Proposals for rezoning shall include details
on how the project will be designed to conform with this policy, including the intent of
forming a water company or improvement district, or extending an existing water
company, improvement district or municipal water provider.
Policy 2.5 New residential development proposed as subdivisions or in rezonings to
higher densities shall conserve water use by incorporating efficient, effective and
integrated water pumping, distribution, metering and recharge systems as well as water
conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs). Until such time the County requires

4

additional water conservation site development standards through its Zoning
Regulations and the building permit process, the following water conservation measures
are not specifically required, but are optional provisions that the applicant may use to
comply with the policies and standards of this plan. Conformance with this policy shall
be evaluated based upon the number and effectiveness of measures proposed by an
applicant. Those measures may include, but are not limited to:
a. Installation of separate potable water, “grey water” and sanitary sewer
distribution lines on individual structures with grey water lines connected to a
water harvesting system for on-site use. Rooftop runoff should also be
connected to the water harvesting system;
b. Limiting landscaping to drought-tolerant native vegetation as defined by the
County’s Low Water Use/Drought Tolerant Plant List, and incorporate landscape
features in locations and of specific types that would shade structures and living
areas in summer;
c. Elimination or limiting amount of live, non drought-tolerant turf in landscaping;
d. Requiring front-loading or water efficient washing machines;
e. Establishing a building envelope within the lot;
f. Prohibition on use of potable water in irrigation and washing down impervious
surfaces;
g. Implementation of swimming pool and/or water spa conservation measures;
h. Incorporation of effluent re-use and recharge within subdivisions that provide
wastewater treatment systems;
i. Incorporation of storm water recharge/re-use facilities on individual lots or
subdivisions as a whole, to the greatest extent possible;
j. Limited use of inefficient evaporative coolers in favor of energy-efficient air
conditioning systems.
k. Installation of water line insulation, hot water on-demand systems, and hot water
recirculation systems within structures;
l. Installation of timers and rain sensors on drip irrigation landscaping systems;
m. Installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures;
n. Installation of water meters on interior and exterior potable water systems and
requirements for financial levies for excessive water use, where feasible;
o. Provision of “water wise” or similar publications and contact information as part of
sales contracts to home buyers;
Policy 2.6 New non-residential development proposed as special uses or in rezonings
shall incorporate water conservation design features and BMPs to reduce potable water
use and to maximize water harvesting and recharge opportunities. Non-residential
developments shall incorporate many of the water conservation systems and features
described for residential development and, in addition, to the extent feasible, shall
incorporate the following measures and BMPs:
a. Incorporate water harvesting and storm water filtering and recharge facilities;
b. Install waterless urinals in employee and public restrooms;
c. Utilize drought-tolerant vegetation in landscaping;
d. No irrigated turf in parking areas, roadway medians or landscape features;
e. No use of misters or water features;

5

f. Use outdoor drip irrigation systems;
g. Use air conditioners rather than evaporative coolers
Policy 2.7 Any new commercial development proposed as a special use or in
rezonings wherein on-site use of ground water is integral to the processes, function or
product of the commercial development is discouraged. Car wash operations,
commercial water bottling operations, recreational water activities or industrial
processes consuming large amounts of water are not appropriate for development
under this plan. New commercial development proposed as a special use or in
rezonings, wherein net water use is expected to exceed 200 gallons per day per acre
for all uses, shall incorporate an integrated design system of ground water, wastewater
and storm water management, including recirculation and capture of water for reuse
and recharge, for each project. Proposals shall include descriptions of planned water
management measures designed to demonstrate how projected water use over 200
gallons per day per acre shall be off-set to the extent feasible.

3. Growth Category Specific Policies
The following policies shall be applied to the Growth Categories already in place in the
plan area, notwithstanding the policies set forth in Section 2 of this plan.
Policy 3.1 Within existing Growth Category A and B boundaries, requests for increases
in residential density over and above existing zoning shall not exceed a gross density of
one residence per acre unless:
a. The request is accompanied by a proposal to connect to an existing or new
wastewater treatment facility that incorporates effective recharge or reuse of
treated effluent; or
b. The request is accompanied by a legal and verifiable transfer, retirement or
purchase of development rights, executed by the applicant, on property within
the plan area. The transfer, retirement or purchase of development rights should
include the number of housing units, as permitted under the existing zoning of
said property, equal to or greater than the number requested over and above the
gross density of one unit per acre.
Policy 3.2 Within Category D areas of the plan area, no rezonings to higher residential
densities will be permitted where pumping is proposed within two (2) miles of the San
Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area boundary.
Policy 3.3 Master development plan requests are treated as any Comprehensive Plan
amendment and are subject to the procedures set forth in the Cochise County Zoning
Regulations. Within the plan area, requests for increases in residential density over and
above existing zoning shall not exceed a gross density of one residence per acre
unless:
a. The request is accompanied by a proposal to connect to an existing or new
wastewater treatment facility that incorporates effective recharge or reuse of
treated effluent; or

6

b. The request is accompanied by a legal and verifiable transfer, retirement or
purchase of development rights, executed by the applicant, on property within
the plan area. The transfer, retirement or purchase of development rights should
include the number of housing units, as permitted under the existing zoning of
said property, equal to or greater than the number requested over and above the
gross density of one unit per acre.

7