Well, Hauled or City Water on Arizona Horse Property
Water on Arizona horse property comes from one of three places: a private well, water hauled in by truck, or service from a city or a private water company. The difference shows up in your monthly cost, your loan, and whether your horses drink in August. Two properties on the same road can be on two different systems, so I walk buyers through this before they fall in love with a place.
What Are the Three Ways Arizona Horse Property Gets Water?
A private well, hauled water stored in a cistern or holding tank, or a piped system run by a town or a private utility. Some properties also carry separate irrigation rights, which are a different thing entirely. Irrigation water is not drinking water. For that side of it, read my guide to flood irrigation for Arizona owners and my article on Arizona water rights and irrigation districts.
What Is an Exempt Well in Arizona?
The Arizona Department of Water Resources defines an exempt well as “a well having a pump with a maximum capacity of not more than thirty-five gallons per minute which is used to withdraw groundwater pursuant to section 45-454.” That definition comes from A.R.S. § 45-402(8). Under A.R.S. § 45-454, the statute defines domestic purposes as “uses related to the supply, service and activities of households and private residences,” including the application of water to less than two acres.
Most single-family horse properties on a private well here fall in that exempt category. That matters when you start talking about a boarding barn, because a bigger operation can outgrow what an exempt well was set up to do.
What Does It Take to Drill a New Well?
ADWR says the most commonly used form is the 55-40 Notice of Intent to Drill, Deepen, Replace, or Modify a Well, used for exempt wells inside an Active Management Area and for any water production well outside one. ADWR has a statutory limit of fifteen days to process a Notice of Intent under A.R.S. § 45-596(D) and up to sixty days for a permit under A.R.S. § 45-599(D).
One step surprises people on small parcels. ADWR states that if water from the well will be used for domestic purposes on a parcel of five or fewer acres, the county or local health authority must review the application before it goes to the Department, citing A.R.S. § 45-596(F).
As for setbacks, ADWR says the state has no setback requirement from parcel boundaries or other wells. State rule A.A.C. R12-15-818 does say no well shall be drilled within 100 feet of any septic tank system, sewage disposal area, landfill, hazardous waste facility, or storage area of hazardous materials or petroleum. Counties can add their own.
What Should You Check on a Well That Is Already There?
Start with the registration. ADWR says every well should have a registration number beginning with “55-” followed by six digits, required under A.R.S. § 45-593(B). Wells drilled before June 12, 1980 are existing wells under A.R.S. § 45-591(1). When the land sells, the 55-71A Request to Change Well Information form moves the record to the new owner.
Then test the water. The Arizona Department of Health Services recommends a new well be tested for arsenic, fluoride, lead, nitrates, total coliform bacteria, total dissolved solids, and uranium, then yearly for total coliform and nitrates and every five years for arsenic, fluoride and uranium.
What Is a Shared Well, and Who Protects You?
A shared well serves two or more properties, and the state is not your backstop. ADWR is direct about it: well share agreements are private contracts, and while Arizona water law governs how a well is drilled and located, it does not govern how one is operated or managed. ADWR cannot intervene in a dispute.
Lenders are stricter. The VA’s handbook requires a shared well to supply each property at the same time, to be protected by a permanent easement allowing maintenance and repair, and to be covered by a recorded well-sharing agreement binding the signers and their successors in title. Read that agreement before you write an offer.
How Does Hauled Water Work in Arizona?
A truck fills a cistern or holding tank on a schedule you set. It is common on remote acreage where a well would be deep or a service line would be long.
The haulers are regulated. Maricopa County states that vehicles hauling water for drinking or potable uses must be operated with a permit, that the vehicle must be inspected, and that it must comply with Chapter V, Section 2 of the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code and Title 18, Chapter 4, Section 125 of the Arizona Administrative Code. That state rule now sits at A.A.C. R18-4-214, which requires hauled water to come from an approved source, requires a hauler to maintain a residual free chlorine level of 0.2 mg/l to 1.0 mg/l, and requires the container to be labeled “For Drinking Water Use Only.”
Here is the part buyers miss. On a VA loan, the handbook says the appraiser must comment and the Veteran must acknowledge in writing when water is supplied by dug wells, cisterns, or holding tanks used with water purchased and hauled to the site. Hauled water does not kill a deal. It adds paperwork, so tell your lender on day one.
What About City or Private Water Company Service?
Piped service is the easiest to own and to budget, but it is not evenly available. The Town of Queen Creek says plainly that water utilities for Queen Creek and surrounding areas “are provided by a number of different companies, depending on where you live,” and that the Town’s own Water Department serves roughly 40 square miles of the Queen Creek area.
In San Tan Valley, Queen Creek and the Anthem area of Florence, ADEQ reports that EPCOR completed its purchase of the Johnson Utilities assets on January 29, 2021, and that the utility is now the EPCOR San Tan Water and Wastewater districts. Confirm the provider by address. Do not assume there is a meter at the street.
How Does Your Water Source Affect Your Loan?
On a USDA guaranteed loan, federal rule 7 CFR 3555.201(b)(4) requires adequate utilities and water and wastewater systems, and allows privately owned systems if the lender finds them adequate, safe and code compliant and connecting to a public system is not reasonable. On a VA loan, testing must be done by a disinterested third party, the Veteran may never collect or transport the sample, and results are good for 90 days unless the local authority says otherwise.
For the well-specific deep dive, read my article on well water on Arizona horse property. If the place is also on septic, pair it with septic systems on East Valley acreage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an exempt well in Arizona?
ADWR defines it as a well with a pump with a maximum capacity of not more than thirty-five gallons per minute used to withdraw groundwater under A.R.S. § 45-454. The definition is in A.R.S. § 45-402(8).
How close can a well be to a septic system in Arizona?
Under A.A.C. R12-15-818, no well shall be drilled within 100 feet of any septic tank system, sewage disposal area, landfill, hazardous waste facility, or storage area of hazardous materials or petroleum.
Can you get a loan on a property with hauled water?
Yes, with extra steps. VA’s handbook requires the appraiser to comment and the Veteran to acknowledge in writing when water is hauled to a cistern or holding tank.
Does the state enforce my shared well agreement?
No. ADWR states that well share agreements are private contracts, that it does not govern their operation, and that it cannot intervene in a dispute.
The Bottom Line
None of the three is automatically wrong for Arizona horse property. The wrong answer is finding out in escrow. Pull the well registration, read the shared well agreement, confirm the provider at the address, and tell your lender the water source before the appraisal is ordered.
Buying or selling horse property anywhere in the Metro Plex of Arizona? Call or text Kim Williamson at 480-206-1500 or visit ArizonaHorsePropertyForSale.com.
Kim Williamson, REALTOR® | 8x WPRA World Champion | 1,000+ transactions | 24 years selling real estate | 36 years living in Arizona | Real Brokerage | 480-206-1500
This article is general information, not legal or lending advice. Rules change and vary by parcel. Confirm your specific property with ADWR, your county health authority, your water provider, and your lender.
Sources (checked 2026-09-20): Arizona Department of Water Resources, Groundwater Wells and Permitting Frequently Asked Questions, azwater.gov; A.R.S. § 45-454, azleg.gov; A.A.C. R12-15-818 as quoted by ADWR; A.A.C. R18-4-214, Hauled Water; Maricopa County Environmental Services, Drinking Water Permits, maricopa.gov; Town of Queen Creek, Local Water Providers, queencreekaz.gov; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Former Johnson Utilities, azdeq.gov; 7 CFR 3555.201, ecfr.gov; VA Pamphlet 26-7 Chapter 12, Minimum Property Requirement, knowva.ebenefits.va.gov.
TAGS: arizona horse property water, exempt well arizona, hauled water arizona, shared well agreement arizona, Kim Williamson
