Gila River Indian Community to get $233 million for water conservation, infrastructure

By Debra Utacia Krol

The Gila River Indian Community will get up to $233 million in a historic agreement to conserve water, one that is expected to help keep water levels at Lake Mead from falling too low.

The money, announced Thursday by federal, state and tribal officials, will pay for piping up to 20,000 acre-feet of reclaimed water for agriculture, funding solar-panel shade covers over tribal irrigation canals, and creating a conservation project that will ultimately save up to 125,000 acre-feet over two years.

The tribe's work will help keep nearly 2 feet of water in drought-stricken Lake Mead and help forestall dead pool conditions in the giant reservoir, the level when the water drops so low it can’t flow downstream from the dam.

The 14,000-member tribe, whose lands lie just south of Phoenix and Chandler, will receive $50 million from the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program to protect Colorado River reservoir storage during what experts acknowledge is the Southwest's worst drought in the past 1,200 years. Climate change, which exacerbates weather patterns, has also supercharged the current drought.

Officials said that the agreement includes an additional $50 million for future conservation efforts in 2024 and 2025.

Gila River will also get $83 million for a pipeline to move reclaimed water about 19 miles from the eastern side of the tribe's 372,000-acre reservation to its Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project facility.

The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Conservation measures reflect a dire situation

Both Gila River and the Colorado River Indian Tribes, which hold the largest tribal rights to water in the state, have long been leaders in conservation and, in recent years, in contributing water to prop up a declining Lake Mead. In December 2021, the two tribes signed onto an agreement to contribute about 500,000 acre-feet of their own water to help prevent reductions in Arizona's Colorado River allocation.

Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis thanked federal leaders for their "all-of-government" support, along with members of Arizona's congressional delegation and the Bureau of Reclamation.

"Gila River helped develop a conservation tool to conserve up to 600,000 acre-feet and boost Lake Mead's level by 10 feet," he said. He stressed the need to look at water in terms of generations, much like his and other tribal communities do.

He also thanked Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation President Bernadine Burnette, who wasn't at the conference, for her help in brokering the agreement, which he said came together rapidly. Planning for the pipeline moved quickly enough to allow groundbreaking in May, with a 2024 completion date.

Mitch Landrieu, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden, said one good year of snow and rainfall won't be enough to fix a 23-year-long drought and he held up the Gila River agreement as a model for future partnerships to manage water supplies in the Colorado River basin.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, whose office hosted Thursday's announcement, echoed that statement and said infrastructure investment, recycling water and other such strategies should be the model.

David Palumbo, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, said addressing the serious challenges posed by a reduced Colorado River and the ongoing drought would sustain people, farms, tribes, cities and ecosystems.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero also noted that the agreement reflected how seriously water issues are being taken by governments. Romero said that Tucson, like Phoenix, has been planning for shortfalls for decades, and Tucson in particular has developed a philosophy surrounding the true value of water.

Congressional reps and Sinema talk tribal water settlements and funding

U.S. Reps. Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego, both D-Ariz., said the agreement was a significant moment for Arizona.

"These decisions will determent what our state will look like in the future," said Stanton, who called on state leaders to reform groundwater management policies.

Gallego said an "all-hands-on-deck" strategy is needed to continue the momentum from the Gila River agreement.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., told The Arizona Republic about a recent visit to the White Mountain Apache Tribe to celebrate the long-awaited funding of the tribe's water settlement. She said that among other provisions, the funding would complete the Miner Flat dam project. The dam will be built on the North Fork of the White River and the water from the new reservoir will be treated in a facility north of the town of Whiteriver. A 60-mile-long pipeline will move the treated water to the communities of Whiteriver, Fort Apache, Canyon Day, Cedar Creek, Carrizo and Cibecue.

She praised Gila River for "doing the most in the region to conserve water."

Lewis returned the compliment. "We couldn't be prouder of Sinema," he said. Lewis is a member of Sinema's water advisory task force.

The White Mountain infrastructure funding was one of several bills she and fellow Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, shepherded through the U.S. Senate. The Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act were signed by Biden Jan. 5.

Kelly wasn't at the press conference but did send comments about his work as one of the negotiators of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided $2.5 billion to fund tribal water settlements. He also helped secure $4 billion for drought relief in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Gallego turned an overused phrase about water on its ear: "Water is for coming to agreement."

Permalink: https://stanton.house.gov/2023/4/gila-river-indian-community-to-get-233-million-for-water-conservation-infrastructure

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