FILE – Dropping water levels are seen in Lake Powell's Wahweep Bay along the upper Colorado River (Utah-Arizona border in Wahweep, Arizona, June 9, 2021). The Colorado River Basin is on the verge of a settlement between more than a dozen parties on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, that provides a pathway to water for tens of thousands of Arizona tribal members who still live without water. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A Native American tribe with one of the largest water rights claims in the Colorado River Basin is closing in on a settlement with more than a dozen parties, cutting a path to providing water to dozens of residents. You will walk through Thousands of Arizona tribal members still live without it.

The terms of the negotiations outlined late Wednesday include water rights not only for the Navajo Nation, but also for the neighboring Hopi and Southern San Juan Paiute tribes in the northeastern corner of the state. This water comes from a variety of sources, including the Colorado River, which flows through seven western states, the Little Colorado River, and aquifers and washes on tribal lands.

The agreement has been decades in the making and allows tribes to avoid further costly litigation and court proceedings. Navajo Nation officials said they expect to finalize terms within the next few days.

From there, it would require approval from the tribe's governing body, the state of Arizona, other political parties and Congress.

“We have the right Congress, we have the right president, and we are very hopeful,” Navajo Nation President Boo Nygren told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Because next year could be a whole different ballgame. It's going to be very uncertain.”

The proposal comes as Native American tribes, Colorado River Basin states and Mexico work on a long-term plan to share a dwindling water source that serves 40 million people. Tribes, including the Navajo Nation, were excluded from a landmark 1922 treaty that divided the watershed's waters among seven states.

The Navajo Nation has long argued that the state treats the tribe as an afterthought. If an agreement is reached, it will be separated from that long-term plan and become independent in its own right.

About one-third of homes on the Navajo Nation do not have running water. Infrastructure projects outlined by the Navajo Nation include a $1.7 billion pipeline to bring water from Lake Powell to tribal communities. It should be noted that there is no guarantee that Congress will provide funding.

Both the Navajo and Hopi tribes seek the ability to borrow and store water in existing or new reservoirs and reservoirs.

“Some of the families who still live in these communities now do things like cook meals, make lemonade for their kids in the summer, make ice, and make daily life easier and more convenient. But some families are carrying water,” said Crystalyn Curley, president of the Navajo Nation Council.

On Wednesday, the Navajo Nation cited climate change, costs, water disputes and the coronavirus pandemic as reasons for moving toward reconciliation. Arizona would benefit from having greater certainty about the amount of water available to non-tribal users. The state has had to reduce its use of Colorado River water in recent years due to drought and demand.

Tom Buschacke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said Wednesday that while progress has been made in reconciliation with the Navajo Nation, the agreement is not yet complete.

Sarah Langley, a spokeswoman for the largest city, Flagstaff, which is a party to the settlement, said she was hopeful the negotiations would be fruitful.

Arizona is unique in that, along with California, Nevada, and Mexico, it is located in the lower Colorado River basin and is also assigned to the upper basin. Under the terms of the settlement, the Navajo and Hopi tribes will acquire approximately 47,000 acre-feet of land in the Upper Basin, which is set aside for use in coal-fired power plants on the Navajo Reservation. That's almost the full amount. Late 2019.

The proposal also includes providing approximately 9,500 acre-feet of low-priority water annually from the lower reaches for both tribes. One acre-foot of water is approximately enough to water two to three households in the United States for a year.

Specific terms for the southern San Juan Paiute tribe are still under discussion, but Congress could be asked to create a small reservation for the tribe, whose ancestral lands are in Utah and Arizona. Tribal Chairman Robin Preston Jr. did not immediately respond to emailed questions from The Associated Press.

Fred Romaesva, general counsel for the Hopi Nation, declined to comment.

The Navajo Nation, whose 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) of reservation also extends into New Mexico and Utah, has already settled its claims to the Colorado River Basin.

In 2012, the Navajo and Hopi tribes nearly reached an agreement with the state of Arizona to resolve water rights. Both tribes rejected the accompanying federal legislation, and the tentative agreement fell through. It also lacked widespread support among the Navajo and Hopi tribes, who viewed the negotiations as secretive, leading to a slow movement to remove then-Navajo President Ben Shelley and Hopi Chairman Leroy Shingoitewa.

Recently, the Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission held public hearings across the reservation to ensure tribal members knew what was involved in the settlement and why the tribe pursued it, tribal officials said. said the person.

“We have a united front with our chapters, schools, and even small businesses and families,” Curley said. “It's something that encompasses everyone. Everyone should be able to know what the terms are.”

The federal government has poured money into settling tribal water rights in recent years. The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that the government has no treaty obligation to take proactive steps to secure Navajo water, complicating the Navajo Nation's water dispute.

___ Naishadam reported from Washington, D.C.