Alan Halaly | (TNS) Las Vegas Review-Journal
Having access to clean, reliable water has never been a given on tribal lands that rely on the Colorado River.
“Community members turn on their faucets every day to have black, manganese-filled water come out,” said KeAloha Douma, attorney general of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona. “That should not be happening in America, but it’s happening within our own communities.”
Douma’s tribe is one of five that may see improvements in their water supply thanks to agreements signed on Wednesday in Las Vegas at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference, an annual gathering of officials to discuss the most pressing issues facing the basin. It may be one of the final actions Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton takes in the role as President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Several tribal leaders who spoke to the media noted that it’s uncommon for a sitting Reclamation commissioner to make time to visit sovereign nations.
The Biden administration’s Interior Department has placed an emphasis on tribal water issues, appointing the country’s first Native Interior secretary and leveraging millions in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to improve water systems on reservations.
In brief remarks, Touton said she was grateful that Native leaders took time to meet with her federal agency and work on solutions.
“I’ve had the privilege to visit over half of your homelands, some several times,” Touton said. “Thank you for continuing to welcome us.”
Tribes say agreements are ‘baby steps’
For Douma’s tribe, $21.5 million in federal funds will establish the tribe’s water system and benefit over 15,000 people, Touton said.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Quechan Tribe, both in Arizona, extended water conservation agreements in which the tribes are compensated for keeping 43,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead between them.