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Tag: Book- Shared Well Management

FAQ Shared Well Agreements

assessor parcel number (apn)- how to find

An Assessor Parcel Number (APN) is a unique number assigned to each parcel of land by a county tax assessor. The APN is based on formatting codes depending on the home’s location. The local government uses APNs to identify and keep track of land ownership for property tax purposes.

To find your Arizona property’s APN, go to the local county assessor’s website and search by your address. There you can see information regarding your APN, lot size, home type, property tax history, and sale price history.

Synonyms include Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN), Assessor’s Identification Number (AIN), County Assessor’s Parcel I.D., Property Identification Number (PIN), Property Account Number, Tax Account Number.

  • Apache County Parcel Search: Apache County Assessor’s Office.
  • Cochise County Parcel Search: Cochise County Assessor’s Office.
  • Coconino County Parcel Search: Coconino County Assessor’s Office.
  • Gila County Parcel Search: Gila County Assessor’s Office.
  • Graham County Parcel Search: Graham County Assessor’s Office.
  • Greenlee County Parcel Search: Greenlee County Assessor’s Office.
  • La Paz County Parcel Search: La Paz County Assessor’s Office.
  • Maricopa County Parcel Search: Maricopa County Assessor’s Office.
  • Mohave County Parcel Search: Mohave County Assessor’s Office.
  • Navajo County Parcel Search: Navajo County Assessor’s Office.
  • Pima County Parcel Search: Pima County Assessor’s Office.
  • Pinal County Parcel Search: Pinal County Assessor’s Office.
  • Santa Cruz County Parcel Search: Santa Cruz County Assessor’s Office.
  • Yavapai County Parcel Search: Yavapai County Assessor’s Office.
  • Yuma County Parcel Search: Yuma County Assessor’s Office.

can i register a shared well in my name, even if the well is not on my property?

No. A water well can only be registered in the name of the Arizona property owner in which the well is located.

does a well share agreement need to be recorded with the aDWR?

No. Not only is it not a requirement to record your well share agreement with the Arizona Department of Water Resources they do not oversee shared well agreements at all!

A well share agreement does not have to be recorded anywhere, however, it is good practice to record the agreement with the county recorder in which the well is located. For example, if the shared well is located in Maricopa County then the well share agreement should be recorded with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

Additionally, it is wise to record the well share agreement with the Arizona Department of Water Resources. The benefit to recording the agreement with them is that it is placed into the well’s file and then it can be retrieved at some future date.

are well share agreements mandatory?

No, well share agreements are not required. In fact, shared wells are completely unregulated by any State entity. So, while it is unwise to share a water well without a written agreement it is not a violation of a state statute or ordinance.

must i record my well share agreement with the county recorder’s office?

No, well share agreements in Arizona are completely unregulated and so there is not a requirement that they must be recorded with the county recorder and or recorded with the Arizona Department of Water Resources. However, recording the agreement with both organizations is a wise decision.

  • Apache County Recorder’s Office:
  • Cochise County Recorder’s Office:
  • Coconino County Recorder’s Office:
  • Gila County Recorder’s Office:
  • Graham County Recorder’s Office:
  • Greenlee County Recorder’s Office:
  • La Paz County Recorder’s Office:
  • Maricopa County Recorder’s Office:
  • Mohave County Recorder’s Office:
  • Navajo County Recorder’s Office:
  • Pima County Recorder’s Office:
  • Pinal County Recorder’s Office:
  • Santa Cruz County Recorder’s Office:
  • Yavapai County Recorder’s Office:
  • Yuma County Recorder’s Office:

how to find a well registration number

In Arizona, the Arizona Department of Water Resource’s assigns a well registration number to each water well. These well registration numbers each begin with the number 55. To find your well’s 55 number go to the Arizona Department of Water Resource’s Website and search using a few different methods.

In order to find your well’s 55 number, you need to know one of the following pieces of information:
Well Registry Number or the Well Owner’s Name, or the location of the Well: Township/Range, Cadastral, Basin, or Subbasin.

without a well share agreement can i be denied water?

Yes. The Grantees, the recipients of the well water, can be denied access to the water without a proper well share agreement. Some people may say, I do not need a formal well share agreement because I’m friendly with my neighbor and we have a verbal agreement. But what if your friendly neighbor moves? Will you still have a legal right to the water? No. The new owners do not have any obligation to share well water with you.

If you need help from an experienced shared well attorney, then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.

* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.

Author Clint DunawayPosted on August 26, 2020June 1, 2022Categories Arizona Water, Well SharingTags Book- Shared Well Management, Well Share Agreements

Water Well Agreements Arizona

Shared Water Well Agreements

What are your rights to water that comes from a shared well that is not located on your property? For most people, the answer is in their written well share agreement.

The first question to be considered is—which state regulating body grants me the right to access and use groundwater? The Groundwater Management Act “GWMA” of 1980 established that groundwater, is common property of the citizens of Arizona and the management of it was under the Arizona Department of Water Resources, ADWR. All groundwater withdraws in Arizona must come from a water well that was permitted by ADWR.

Owning the land or having an easement right does not give you the right to extract groundwater. The right to extract groundwater in Arizona only comes from having a permitted well.

Therefore, a well share agreement to share the water from a legal source should always refer to the well by its ADWR registration number.

On Whose Land Does is the Well Located?

The second question to be considered is: whose land is the well located on? If the well is located on land that is titled in the name of one of the members of the well share group, then that person owns the well. Drilling and constructing a water well creates a permanent change to real property and that improvement cannot be separated from the land, therefore, well becomes a part of the real property. Groundwater is not real property. Percolating water beneath the earth in Arizona is called groundwater and in it is considered “public” property managed by the ADWR.

If the well is located on your neighbor’s lot, and they hold title to the land in their name, the well should be registered with the ADWR in their name. The ADWR recognizes that shared wells can, and should be, registered in the name of the person or party that is responsible for its management. The ADWR has created Form 55-73 , for the purpose of registering shared wells in the name of a managing or operating group. Registration of a well with the ADWR does not establish ownership of the well. A.R.S. § 45-593(c), requires that the owner of the land keep the ADWR up-to-date as to who owns the land and where the well is located. For this purpose, the ADWR created Form 55-71(a), request to change well information.

water well arizona

well is owned by those named on the deed

When a shared well site is situated on a parcel of land that is deeded and recorded in the appropriate Arizona county, the well is owned by the names listed on that deed. The wording of many well share agreements may grant several owners an undivided interest in into a small piece of land, and thus an undivided real property interest in the well. When this wording is used on the deed and in the shared well agreement, the assessors map should show a smart parcel of land with its own Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN). In this case, the well should be registered in the name of all parties listed on the deed.

If you’re well share agreement is worded in the same manner as the deed, you own an undivided piece of this land which means that you are also subject to a portion of the yearly property taxes or improvement assessments on this parcel.

Once water is pumped to the surface from a registered well, and placed in the storage tank, it becomes the personal property of the owners of the land. So, if you own a percentage of the land via the deed, then you also own a percentage of the water stored on it.

easement rights & ownership rights

Some well shared agreements are structured such that the participants receive only an easement right to access the land where the well is located. There is a major difference between owning an undivided interest in a piece of real estate, partial ownership, versus having just a vested interest in someone else’s real property granted by an easement. An easement is a vested interest in someone else’s real property and not an undivided fraction of title to the land into the well.

An easement will typically state that it was granted for a specific purpose. If your well share agreement is an easement right of entry you should verify that you have a right to do more than merely access someone’s land. The wording of that easement may, by exclusion, not grant you are right to receive and share the water, located on that property. An easement is a vested interest only in someone else’s real property for a specific purpose and groundwater is not a part of real property.

arizona water well agreements- pre-1980

Many well water agreements in place today were written prior to 1980, when groundwater was more loosely considered to be a part of the real property. These older versions often refer strictly to the land and not to the water or the registered well. Well share agreements that refer strictly to a piece of real estate, and do not state the registration number of a well, may not be granting you a legally defensible right to the groundwater. A registered water well is the only legal right to the public groundwater resource and it is granted only to the permitted owner of the land. This is a very compelling reason why all well share agreements should refer to the water well being shared by the registration number.

Well share agreements should define a legal right to groundwater from a registered well. A well share agreement is a legal contract between two or more persons and it can be enforced by the courts. Not complying with the well share agreement can constitute a breach of contract.

If you are considering the purchase of a home with a shared well then read on post of what to expect when living in a home with a shared well. Also, review what a website that will help you schedule and record maintenance records and other important information.

If you would like to amend an existing water well agreement or would like to create a water well agreement then contact the Dunaway Law Group, PLLC at 480-702-1608 or Clint@DunawayLG.com.

* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.

Author Clint DunawayPosted on June 2, 2020June 14, 2022Categories Arizona Water, Well SharingTags Book- Shared Well Management, Water Wells, Well Share Agreements

LLC and Well Easement

Most home lenders today are quite concerned about the wording of shared well agreements, especially when there are five or home homes sharing a single well. If there are five or more homes on a single shared well, lenders prefer that the shared well is registered in either a co-op, or a non-profit limited liability company (LLC).

Additionally, most lenders insist that there are individual water valves that can shut off water to a particular home while leaving the other homes in service.

If you need help from an experienced Arizona water law attorney, then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.

* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona

Author Clint DunawayPosted on May 27, 2020June 14, 2022Categories Arizona Water, Shared Well Agreements, Well SharingTags Book- Shared Well Management

Provide ADWR Your Shared Well Agreement

Once your shared well agreement has been completed and filed with the county recorder, it is time to provide a copy to the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

steps to provide the adwr your shared well agreement

  1. Cover Letter: It is best practice to include a cover letter when submitting your shared well agreement to the ADWR.
  2. Filing Fee: $0. There is not a filing fee to record your shared well agreement with the ADWR.
  3. Mailing Address:
    Arizona Department of Water Resources
    P.O. Box 36020
    Phoenix, AZ 85067-6020

-OR-

The documents can be hand delivered to the ADWR’s physical address at:
Arizona Department of Water Resources
1110 W. Washington St., Suite 310
Phoenix, AZ 85007

If you need help from an experienced shared well attorney, then contact the Dunaway Law Group at 480-702-1608 or message us HERE.

* The information provided is informational only, does not constitute legal advice, and will not create an attorney-client or attorney-prospective client relationship. Additionally, the Dunaway Law Group, PLC limits its practice to the State of Arizona.

Author Clint DunawayPosted on March 10, 2020May 31, 2022Categories Arizona Water, Well SharingTags Book- Shared Well Management

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