Yavapai-Apache nation secures rights to water supplies
In what is being called a “critical milestone” the Yavapai-Apache Nation has secured tribal water rights to fund additional water supplies.
Ensuring resources to thrive
A bipartisan legislation to ratify and fund the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s Water Rights Settlement Agreement has been introduced by an Arizona congressional delegation.
Through the agreement, approximately €1 billion funding will be offered by the settlement to help the tribe build and maintain essential water infrastructure. This includes a Surface Water Drinking Plant and the Cragin-Verde Pipeline.
The Yavapai-Apache Nation tribal council voted unanimously to approve the legalisation, which concluded decades of negotiation between communities, the Salt River Project, the State of Arizona, and the United States.
“Securing water rights and providing reliable water supplies are essential for the future of Arizona,” said Mark Kelly, Arizona’s Democratic US senator.
Rights are also guaranteed to 4,610 acre-feet per year of water, infrastructure, water conservation promotion, and protection of the flow of the Verde River.
Protecting the Verde River
Located in Arizona’s Verde Valley, the Yavapai-Apache Nation comprise five tribal communities with more than 2,500 tribal members, including: Tunlii; Middle Verde; Rimrock; Camp Verde; and Clarkdale.
Kelly told media: “This settlement is a significant step toward ensuring the Yavapai-Apache Nation and surrounding communities have the resources they need to thrive while also protecting the vital flow of the Verde River.”
The agreement is being seen as a “critical milestone”, according to Tanya Lewis, chairwoman of the Yavapai-Apache Nation.
Commenting on the agreement, she said: “To reach a settlement, the Nation worked with our neighbouring communities, the State of Arizona, the Salt River Project, and other stakeholders to attain agreement on a settlement that not only protects the Nation’s water future, but also ensures the benefits of the settlement will help support a sustainable water future for the entire Verde Valley.”
Reducing the need for groundwater pumping
The settlement directs the Secretary of the Interior to plan, design and construct the €676 million pipeline taking water from the CC Cragin Reservoir to the Yavapai-Apache Nation and surrounding communities as part of the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project.
While the Surface Water Drinking Plant is estimated to cost €140 million, a further €144 million has been promised for the water settlement trust fund.
One of the ambitions is that the pipeline will reduce the need for the Nation pump groundwater, helping to protect flows in the Verde River.
In addition, the settlement includes a land exchange with the Forest Service to secure lands around the Middle Verde Reservation, which will enhance both community resilience and environmental stewardship.
The Yavapai-Apache Nation has agreed to not pursue claims against existing water users for damages to water rights in the Verde River watershed.