Navajo Nation approves proposed settlement to secure Colorado River water

navajo nation approves proposed settlement to secure colorado river water

FILE - A windmill draws water for livestock in Leupp, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, Saturday, March 9, 2024. In a vote on Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Navajo Nation Council has unanimously approved a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca, File)

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress would ensure water for two other Native American tribes in a state that has been forced to cut back on water use.

The Navajo Nation has one of the largest single outstanding claims in the Colorado River basin. Delegates acknowledged the gravity of their vote Thursday, with many noting that securing water deliveries to tribal communities has been an effort that has spanned generations.

“Thank you for helping make history today,” Navajo Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley told her fellow delegates as they stood and clapped after casting a unanimous vote.

The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Council also voted to approve the settlement Thursday, while the Hopi tribe approved it earlier this week. Congress will have the final say.

Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades and federal negotiation teams are working on another 22 agreements involving dozens of tribes. In this case, the Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are seeking more than $5 billion as part of their settlement.

About $1.75 billion of that would fund a pipeline from Lake Powell, one of the two largest reservoirs in the Colorado River system, on the Arizona-Utah border. The settlement would require the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to complete the project by the end of 2040.

From there, water would be delivered to dozens of tribal communities in remote areas.

Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spanning 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — don’t have running water. Many homes on Hopi lands are similarly situated.

Navajo President Buu Nygren plans to sign the settlement legislation as soon as it hits his desk, likely Friday. He told The Associated Press it had been a long road to get everyone to the table and the next step will be knocking on the doors of Congress.

“This is a tremendous step,” he said of the tribes' unanimous votes. “We can finally plan for the future now, because of course it’s hard to plan for the future when you don’t know how much water we’re thinking about.”

A century ago, tribes were left out of a landmark 1922 agreement that divided the Colorado River basin water among seven Western states. Now, the tribes are seeking water from a mix of sources: the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River, aquifers and washes on tribal lands in northeastern Arizona.

The latest settlement talks were driven in part by worsening impacts from climate change and demands on the river like those that have allowed Phoenix, Las Vegas and other desert cities to thrive. The Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are hoping to close the deal quickly under a Democratic administration in Arizona and with Joe Biden as president.

navajo nation approves proposed settlement to secure colorado river water

FILE - Low water levels at Wahweap Bay at Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin are pictured, June 9, 2021, at the Utah and Arizona border at Wahweap, Ariz. In a vote on Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Navajo Nation Council has unanimously approved a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Without a settlement, the tribes would be at the mercy of courts. Already, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government is not bound by treaties with the Navajo Nation to secure water for the tribe. Navajo has the largest land base of any of the 574 federally recognized tribes and is second in population with more than 400,000 citizens.

A separate case that has played out over decades in Arizona over the Little Colorado River basin likely will result in far less water than the Navajo Nation says it needs because the tribe has to prove it has historically used the water. That’s hard to do when the tribe hasn’t had access to much of it, Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch has said.

Arizona — situated in the Colorado River’s Lower Basin with California, Nevada and Mexico — is unique in that it also has an allocation in the Upper Basin. The state would get certainty in the amount of water available as it’s forced to cut back as the overall supply diminishes.

navajo nation approves proposed settlement to secure colorado river water

FILE - A windmill draws water for livestock in Leupp, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation, Saturday, March 9, 2024. In a vote on Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Navajo Nation Council has unanimously approved a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca, File)

Navajo and Hopi, like other Arizona tribes, could be part of that solution if they secure the right to lease water within the state that could be delivered through a canal system that already serves metropolitan Tucson and Phoenix.

Arizona water officials have said the leasing authority is a key component of the settlement.

The Associated Press

OTHER NEWS

17 minutes ago

Knights rookie burns Edwards

18 minutes ago

Expect two rate cuts this year: Citi's Nathan Sheets

18 minutes ago

I’m relieved AI has come at the end of my investing career

18 minutes ago

Gas prices fall as rent, some food costs increase, latest CPI report shows

18 minutes ago

Emirates NBD announces prestigious LEED certifications awarded across branches in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

18 minutes ago

How to watch Serbia vs England for FREE: TV channel and live stream for Euro 2024 game today

18 minutes ago

All set for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration: How the day will unfold

18 minutes ago

Bridgerton season 3 part 2 release date and time on Netflix

18 minutes ago

Married At First Sight's Hayley Vernon gets baptised and announces she's 'found Christ' after quitting the 'soul destroying' adult industry

18 minutes ago

Epping death: Disturbing details emerge after wife allegedly bashed her husband Kevin Park to death with a hammer in their Sydney home

25 minutes ago

Lady Louise Windsor, 20, borrowed her mother the Duchess of Edinburgh's floral fascinator for Trooping the Colour

25 minutes ago

Brits amazed by UK island with tropical sandy beaches – and it's great for stargazing

25 minutes ago

Chelsea ready for almighty Bayern Munich transfer scrap but Liverpool still ominously lurking

25 minutes ago

Everton eye move for Man United defender as Jarrad Branthwaite replacement

25 minutes ago

Life saving lessons: multicultural leaders urge education in ‘second language’ of water safety after latest drownings

26 minutes ago

Anthony Scaramucci Scorches CEOs With 1 Blistering Description Over Trump Meeting

26 minutes ago

Lions sign UFL kicker Jake Bates to 2-year deal

26 minutes ago

Epping death: Disturbing details emerge after wife allegedly bashed her husband Kevin Park to death with a hammer in their Sydney home

29 minutes ago

Video: Six 'ISIS terrorists' break out of Russian jail cell and hold two prison officers including 'colonel' hostage at knifepoint before demanding getaway car and guns

29 minutes ago

Terrifying moment 7ft shark swims at speed towards Gran Canaria shore - with beach forced to close to bathing after sparking fear among tourists and locals

30 minutes ago

Talks open: Club move to sign 57,000-a-week Leeds player who Bielsa loves

31 minutes ago

Poland vs Netherlands lineups: Predicted XIs, confirmed Euro 2024 team news and injuries today

31 minutes ago

UK weather: Exact date maps turn red as North African plume brings 29C scorcher

31 minutes ago

Man Utd to receive tempting £6.8m offer to sell star who is ‘bored’ of Ten Hag

31 minutes ago

INDIA bloc will support TDP's candidate for Speaker's post: Sanjay Raut

31 minutes ago

Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has strong start to Year 2

31 minutes ago

Sam Adams founder loaning to businesses banks won’t touch

31 minutes ago

Anton & Giovanni Together: the Live Tour, review: A mediocre start, but the show finishes with a bang

31 minutes ago

BBC News Anchor “Shaken By Death Threat, Detailing Bullet That Would Be Used On Him”

31 minutes ago

Japan's economy is shrinking, although slightly less than previously thought

31 minutes ago

Serbia vs England LIVE: Euro 2024 team news, line-ups and buildup as Three Lions prepare for opener

37 minutes ago

Former MI6 agent rates the best and worst spy devices available on Amazon including a lie detector test and rearview sunglasses - and reveals why crisps are the 'best intruder detection system ever invented'

37 minutes ago

How YOU can protect your wealth and future-proof your retirement before the next general election

37 minutes ago

Ring doorbell captures moment 'thief' strolls past front door before turning back and pinching homeowner's plant while 'hiding his face with his hood'

37 minutes ago

I'm the Brexit OG: Rishi Sunak says he is proud of backing the UK's departure from the EU as he warns Keir Starmer's Labour would 'reverse all the progress' made since leaving

37 minutes ago

Wilkommen, WAGs! The glamorous support squad cheering on England ahead of their first Euros match in Germany - from a stewardess to a Love Island star and a 'nepo baby' model

37 minutes ago

Chris Billam-Smith says experience was the key in avenging Richard Riakporhe loss

37 minutes ago

Baby-wearing dads celebrate Fathers’ Day with record-breaking walk in S’pore

37 minutes ago

‘In South Africa, you hear of disappearance all the time’: one photographer’s search for his sister’s missing years

37 minutes ago

HMRC has failed to fine a single ‘enabler’ of offshore tax fraud in five years