Daniel Herrera CarbajalICT
PHOENIX — Tribes want more of a seat at the table for Colorado River water usage talks.
As the seven Colorado River Basin states seem unlikely to reach a water usage agreement by Feb. 14, tribes want more input in the new operating guidelines.
The deadline was set by Interior Secretary Doug Bergum after the basin states failed to reach an agreement by the original date in November 2025.
Historically tribes have been excluded from Colorado River management.
“When these laws were made regarding the river, we weren’t part of that,” Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores, told ICT. “We continue to tell them to correct that with these guidelines that are coming out for the future.”
Boats move along Lake Powell along the Upper Colorado River Basin Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Wahweap, Ariz. Included in the infrastructure deal that became law last month is $2.5 billion for Native American water rights settlements, which quantify individual tribes’ claims to water and identify infrastructure projects to help deliver it to residents. On the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S., the money could fund a settlement reached in 2020 over water in the upper Colorado River basin. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
In the original 1922 Colorado River compact the only parties at the negotiating table were the seven basin states and the United States. None of the 30 Tribal nations who have claims to the river and its tributaries were present in negotiations.
Thirty tribal nations have varying degrees of recognized water rights, with 22 Tribal Nations holding rights to use approximately 3.2 million acre-feet of Colorado river water annually. This equals approximately 25 percent of the basin’s annual water.
There are currently 12 tribal nations with unresolved water right’s claims which once adjudicated or settled, would increase the total volume of water that must serve tribal nations.
One of those tribes is the Pueblo of Zuni.
“The Colorado River and Grand Canyon is homeland to the Zuni people,” Zuni Councilman Edward Wemytewa told ICT.” “And we do not have readily available access to the river. We have to organize with other Tribes. . . Zuni needs to be more involved with the river.”
While many tribe’s water rights are senior, dating back before the 1922 compact, they often do not use them due to funding and infrastructure barriers.
“The Colorado River Indian Irrigation Project is probably the oldest in the BIA system and it is operated and maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And quite frankly, they have not done a very good job of maintaining and keeping the irrigation project in prime working order. And as a result the project is highly inefficient and it makes it difficult for the tribes and its members to be able to fully access its water because the system is the only way we can access our water in Arizona and it is just incredibly inefficient,” Bezedek told ICT.
This undated photo shows an irrigation canal on farmland in Mohave Valley, Arizona. An arm of the Central Arizona Project wants to buy farmland in the Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District, pay farmers to fallow portions of it and send the water savings to central and southern Arizona. (DK McDonald/Mohave Valley Daily News via AP)
Recently, governors of six of the seven basin states met in Washington D.C. in an attempt to reach an agreement in Colorado River negotiations.
If the states can’t reach an agreement before the current operating guidelines expire in October, the federal government will implement one of its alternative usage plans.
The current interim operating guidelines for lower basin shortages specify how and when deliveries are made to California, Arizona and Nevada, and are triggered by reservoir levels in Lake Mead.
New operational guidelines for Lake Mead and Lake Powell are actively underway led by the Bureau of Reclamation in consultation with states and tribes as well as other stakeholders.
In January a draft Environmental Impact Statement was released which analyzes five main alternatives:
- No Action Alternative
- Basic Coordination Alternative (Federal Authorities Alternative)
- Enhanced Coordination Alternative (Federal Authorities Hybrid Alternative)
- Maximum Operational Flexibility Alternative (Cooperative Conservation Alternative)
- Supply Driven Alternative
Colorado River Indian Tribes is currently reviewing the proposed alternatives according to lead water attorney John Bezdek.
CRIT has the most senior water rights of any entity with water usage rights to the Colorado River.
“CRIT first and foremost wants to see its water rights protected and the ability for CRIT to fully put its water to use,” Bezdek told ICT. “We would also like to see barriers for our water use taken down and the opportunity for CRIT, as well as other tribes to be fully engaged in finding solutions here in the Colorado River Basin.”
The Colorado River is split into two basins outlined in the 1922 Colorado River Compact. The lower basin consists of Arizona, California and Nevada. The upper basin consists of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and a small portion of Arizona.
Tribal nations rely on the Colorado River for agricultural, domestic and commercial uses as well as spiritual activities and practices.
“We want to be part of the solution and we’ll continue to voice that. We’ll continue to push for being part of the solution,” Flores told ICT.
“Given the importance of a consensus-based approach to operations for the stability of the system, Reclamation has not yet identified a preferred alternative,” Bureau of Reclamation Acting Commissioner Scott Cameron said. “However, Reclamation anticipates that when an agreement is reached, it will incorporate elements or variations of these five alternatives and will be fully analyzed in the Final EIS enabling the sustainable and effective management of the Colorado River.”
Following a public comment period and feedback, a final EIS and record of decision are expected before Oct. 1, the start of the 2027 water year.
“Our water rights go back to the creation of our reservation, but even back further, it goes to our creator,” Flores told ICT. “We continue to fight for consultation. I want to say we’re 100 percent there, but we’re not.”
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