LAS VEGAS — In addition to the seven states along the Colorado River, Native American tribes have been involved in the negotiations over the future of the water source for 40 million people.
Also involved is the government of Mexico.
"It impacts Mexico because Mexico is part of the basin," said Adriana Reséndez Maldonado, the commissioner for Mexico for the International Boundary & Water Commission.
On Friday, they weighed in on the state of negotiations and what they want to see out of it. Tribal leaders spoke to a crowd at the Colorado River Water Users Association in Las Vegas, outlining their efforts to ensure they are compensated, have access to the water
Manuel Heart, the chair of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe offered the crowd a drink of water from tribal lands as they receive it off the Colorado River.
"If there’s a bucket, the water they’re using, would you guys drink it?" he said, referencing the lower-quality water and making a point about the need for improvements.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren urged the crowd to use their political influence to pressure Congress to adopt a water settlement that would benefit tribes. He said a deal must be reached in the lame-duck session in Washington D.C. by Tuesday.
"Thousands and thousands of Navajo people woke up today, they had to go bring in some water, heat up some water on the stoves. They had to be very conservative," he told reporters following his remarks. "So if our friends and our relatives in the seven basins can come together, have consensus, we can alleviate those basic necessities of having to be in a third-world country."
Stephen Roe Lewis, the governor of the Gila River Indian Community, told the crowd that he was troubled that he was not seeing more efforts to build consensus among all the stakeholders.
The negotiations between the seven states over who gets what out of the Colorado River have stalled. Backroom fights spilled out into public during this week's meetings with Upper Basin and Lower Basin state negotiators trading barbs while insisting they still want to work something out and avoid litigation. Agreements governing the Colorado River expire in 2026.
"We need to see certainty," said Reséndez. "We need to see that in the agreements. We need to see parity and we need to see equity in all the users. Including Mexico."
Environmental groups have also been pressuring states to adopt some of their policy proposals.
"Something that can respond to climate change, something that can get ahead of shortages. Something that really helps stabilize the system," said John Berggren with Western Resource Advocates.
Berggren said he was confident that ultimately the sides would return to the bargaining table.
"There’s a history of fighting in this basin, the states have disagreed before," he said. "But they need to come together and they need to come together now."
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
