Bret Jaspers/KJZZ

The Colorado River, pictured here in Yuma, serves 40 million people with water for drinking, agriculture and industry.

This week the Arizona House and Senate both passed a similar string of bills dealing with the state’s water. One of the bills that passed the two chambers focuses on “adequate water supply” requirements in counties outside the center of the state.

Both Cochise and Yuma Counties require an adequate water supply for a new subdivision. The new bill would make those counties revisit that rule regularly. They’d also need a unanimous vote to keep the rule in place.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Arizona chapter, said the Legislature isn’t taking on tough water issues. But she also said that doing nothing would be better than passing this bill into law.

“The provisions dealing with water adequacy for places like Cochise County, that will take us a step backwards and that will be harmful” to consumers and rivers like the San Pedro.

It’s unlikely the provision will make it past Governor Ducey. An administration memo from earlier this month criticized the bill.