Build on Your Lot in Arizona

For a single home, you do not get a city-style well permit. You file an ADWR Notice of Intent to Drill, and a household well counts as an exempt well. A formal 100-year assured water supply determination is only required for subdivisions of six or more lots, not one home on a legal lot.

There is no set depth. An Arizona well is drilled until it reaches enough water, which depends on the local aquifer and water table. Most domestic wells run between 100 and 800 feet, and some pass 1,000 feet in deep basins. If a well runs dry, you deepen it or drill a new one.

A shared well agreement is a recorded contract that lets two or more properties draw from one well and sets who pays for power, repairs, and upkeep. Arizona does not legally require one, but you need it: ADWR does not regulate these deals, so the recorded agreement is your only protection if a neighbor stops paying.

A perc test times how fast water drains through a lot's soil, which is how a septic system is designed and sited. You need one whenever the home will use a septic system instead of a municipal sewer, which is most rural Arizona lots. Poor-draining soil can force a costlier engineered system or limit the home size.

In Arizona a well must be at least 100 feet from any septic tank or sewage disposal area. State law bars drilling a well within 100 feet of a septic system unless the state director approves an exception. Your county can require a greater distance, so confirm the setback with the county before you site either one.

A septic system needs county permitting before construction under ADEQ's R18-9 rules, handled locally by Maricopa County Environmental Services. When the home later sells, a transfer-of-ownership inspection confirms the system works, and a Notice of Transfer moves the authorization to the new owner. Confirm specifics with the county.

The cost to extend power to a rural Arizona lot commonly runs $10,000 to $50,000 or more, driven mostly by the distance from the nearest line. APS and SRP build the extension and bill you, minus a per-lot allowance (about $3,500 at APS). A long run can make off-grid solar plus battery cheaper.

No, not on hauled water alone. USDA and VA both require a continuous, safe, and potable water supply, and both treat a cistern as unacceptable. A drilled well that passes a health-authority or EPA water test does qualify for both. On a Rio Verde Foothills lot, a well, not a tank, unlocks these loans.