Navajo Nation Water Settlement Agreements Reach Congress
Image: Jamie McEvoy
On November 21, 2024, the University of Arizona hosted a presentation titled “Preserving Dinétah: Water Security for Generations,” which provided an overview of the Navajo Nation’s water settlement agreements currently set before US Congress for approval. This event was organized by Navajo Nation leadership and co-sponsored by the Office of Native American Advancement & Tribal Engagement, the Indigenous Resilience Center, and the WRRC. The program opened with a blessing from Winona Little Owl-Ignacio. Crystal Tulley-Cordova from the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources and MacArthur Stant II from the Navajo Nation Department of Justice gave the water settlements presentation. They introduced the water access gap that the proposed settlements seek to address, noting that Diné people are 67 times more likely than others in the US to be without running water or a toilet connected to sewer lines. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports 18% of Diné homes lack access to running water, but Navajo Nation leadership reports 30–40%. Additional challenges include brackish water and health impacts caused by legacy uranium mining in the area.
The proposed settlements seek improved water access and substantial funding to construct infrastructure that would ensure water security into the future and make possible the delivery of clean water directly to Tribal members’ homes, including renewable energy projects to power water delivery. The settlements discussed included the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024, the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act of 2023, and the Navajo Nation Rio San José Stream System Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024. Navajo leaders are hopeful that the three settlements discussed can be passed as Acts of Congress by the end of this calendar year. There have already been several hearings and testimonies given. As part of the negotiations, Congress may use a “markup” process to modify the agreements before advancing them to the floor to be passed, after which those changes would be brought back to the involved parties to negotiate and proceed forward. If the settlements do not pass in Congress, Navajo Nation leadership says they will “keep on trying,” because the water supply no longer meets demand. A recent ABC podcast series, Reclaimed: The Lifeblood of Navajo Nation, discusses these topics in greater detail.