PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s Native American tribes agreed Thursday with the U.S. government not to use some of their Colorado River rights in exchange for $150 million and pipeline project funding reached.
A $233 million deal with the Gila River Indian community announced in Phoenix to save a river critical to a large agricultural industry and vital to more than 40 million people in seven states in the western United States. was hailed as an example of the kind of cooperation needed for Mexico. Officials called it “compensatory protection.”
This is part of a broader effort to significantly reduce water use in states that depend on the Colorado River during the ongoing drought. It has dramatically depleted reservoirs, including Lake Mead behind the Hoover Dam.
“Today’s announcement and our partnerships with tribes such as the Gila River Indian community prove that tribes are a key part of the solution,” said U.S. Under Secretary of the Interior Tommy Boudreau. “In this endeavor, no partner is more important than Indian Country.”
The federal government had previously committed about $4 billion to drought relief.and Colorado River users have submitted proposals to get some of that money through actions such as leaving fields unplanted. increase. and tribe and major water bodies voluntarily or by order left water in important reservoirs.
Other than Gila’s announcement, the Home Office has provided few details on how the remaining $4 billion will be divided. in California.
The Biden administration plans to spend a total of about $15.4 billion approved by Congress to improve infrastructure and curb inflation on drought-related projects across the West, according to a government fact sheet released alongside Thursday’s announcement. are doing.
The Gila River Tribe will receive $83 million to reuse approximately 20,000 acre-feet (25 million cubic meters) of water annually in the pipeline project, and 125,000 acre-feet (154 million cubic meters) of water over three years. Get $50 million a year for not using. ) per year of water currently stored in Lake Mead. The latter is part of a broader effort to significantly reduce water use for Colorado River water users.
One acre foot of water is enough to cover one foot (1,233 cubic meters) deep on one acre of land, enough to serve two average households in one year.
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Law Lewis also pointed to a third agreement to provide federal grants for a solar-covered canal project in a statement.
“Together, these three agreements represent the future of how we can work together to meet the urgency of this moment,” Lewis said. Colorado River. ”
In Thursday’s announcement, the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that manages the flow of water in rivers, outlines plans for seven states in the Colorado River Basin: Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming. a few days before the Use less water.
The state is allotted 15 million acre-feet (18.5 billion cubic meters) annually, and Mexico has another 1.5 million acre-feet (1.9 billion cubic meters) allotted. U.S. Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton last year called for up to 4 million acre-feet (4.9 billion cubic meters) of land use to be cut statewide, but the numbers were elusive.
By comparison, the Gila River tribe is allotted 653,000 acre feet (805 million cubic meters) annually. We have pledged to give up about one-fifth of our quota by 2025.
Twenty-two of the 30 federally recognized tribes in the Colorado River Basin grant rights to 3.2 million acre feet (3.9 billion cubic meters) annually, or up to 26% of the basin’s current annual flow. Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at the University of Colorado.
Data show that river flow was overestimated 100 years ago. Drought since 2000 has reduced it to about 12.4 million acre-feet (15.3 billion cubic meters) annually, according to the Center’s research.
Officials say the exceptional series of wet winter storms that swept across California and the West from the Pacific this year won’t be enough to break through what scientists call the worst drought in 1,200 years. The drought has dried up hydroelectric power plants and raised concerns that water could be cut off for farms growing crops across the country.
“Despite recent heavy rains and snow, a historic 23-year drought has pushed water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead to record lows,” the Department of the Interior said in a fact sheet.
The Phoenix announcement was part of a series of appearances by Biden administration officials, including one on Wednesday outlining plans to spend $585 million on 83 projects, including dams, canals and water systems in 11 states. It was the department. The announcement will be made at the Imperial Dam in Yuma, Arizona and will receive more than $8 million.
Officials also said $36 million pledged under the Reclaimed Lower Colorado River System Conservation and Efficiency Program will be donated to California’s Coachella Valley. The main body of water in the area is Lake Mead, and he has pledged to conserve 30,000 acre feet (37 million cubic meters) of water.
Another $20 million has been pledged for water storage projects in Utah and California, including the Salton Sea. A dry inland lake formed when the Colorado River flooded in 1905.
Lake Mead, on the Nevada-Arizona border, and Lake Powell, formed by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah border, combined were at 92% capacity in 1999. Today they are less than 30%.
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Ritter reports from Las Vegas.
