Back to Spring 2009 Newsletter
Another piece in the Indian water rights puzzle fell in place when a settlement was worked out with the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Until recently the tribe had resisted negotiating its claim of between 160,000 and 175,000 acre-feet of the Black and White rivers, a claim that had existed for almost half a century. The two rivers merge in eastern Arizona to form the Salt River.
The settlement resolves outstanding water claims by allocating to the tribe 52,000 acre feet per year; 27,000 acre feet will be from the watersheds of the Salt and Little Colorado rivers and 25,000 acre feet from the Central Arizona Project.
The tribe will be able to lease 22,500 acre feet of its CAP allocation to Valley cities for 100-year terms. The balance of the CAP allotment, 2,500 acre feet, is to be leased back to the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. The tribe cannot sell its CAP allocation.
Senator Jon Kyle introduced the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act authorizing and confirming the tribe’s water settlement. The Mesa City Council was the first to sign off on the settlement; the city will be leasing from the Apaches about 866 acre-feet per year with the highest-priority rights and 2,706 acre-feet of lower-priority water for about 100 years. The city will make a single payment of about $7.8 million.
Along with Mesa, 18 other parties must agree to the settlement that also will need congressional ratification. Proponents of the bill expect smooth sailing.
The bill also authorizes funding for a key drinking water project on the tribe’s reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Miner Flat Project, which will be located on the north folk of the White River, is intended as long-term solution to the tribe’s drinking water needs.
Settling the White Mountain Apache water right claims also benefits Valley water users. Quantifying water rights on the reservation, which is located at the headwaters of the Salt River, ensures that tribal claims will not threaten Salt River Project water supplies.
With the White Mountain Apache water rights settled, the largest remaining Indian water right disputes in Arizona involve Navajo and Hopi claims to the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.